A Follower of the Warrior Monk: Rewrite
by TheAmericanTrajan
Summary: During the preparation for an offensive in the midst of WW3 a convoy of Ukrainians Army troops and US Marines is caught on a pontoon bridge. Instead of death they wake up on the shores of a river that is decidedly not the Dnieper.
1. Chapter 1

**I canned the original version due to a variety of reasons but mainly because I had written several points I just could not figure out how to finish along with coming to hate some of the points. So instead of sitting on an unfinished story I scrapped it all and restarted.**

**A Follower of the Warrior Monk: Rewritten**

**Chapter One: The Crossing**

**September 23rd, 2021, Ukraine, 200KM South Of Kiev, II MEF, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

The Dnieper was laid out before them, a pontoon bridge connected the 82nd's bridgehead to the II MEF and its accompanying Ukrainian and NATO forces. So far the Russian military had yet to respond to their successful crossing south of Kiev after several months of the stalemate. Lieutenant Kowalski awaited his platoon's turn to cross. They were sitting atop tanks and APCs of the 1st Tank Brigade of Ukraine who were to cross with his men. It was slow going with designated groups only being allowed to cross after the previous one and any hint of an attack on the other side would halt crossing attempts.

"Group Twelve! Move across the bridge to point six-four!" the T-84 he was sitting upon fired up. It was still a bit odd for him to be sitting on hull of a Ukrainian MBT. Six months was the difference between sitting on a FOB in Afghanistan bored out of his mind and partaking in the largest military operation since Barbarossa. Two platoons of US Marines, one T-84 Oplot-M, three T-84 Oplots, four BMP-2s, and a pair of ZSU-23 Shilkas started their way across the pontoon bridge. The T-84's commander, a Major Illya Kosh called up through the open hatch, "Keep an eye out for those damned robot tanks!"

The Uran-9 has been a pain in the ass since Russian troops rolled out of Donbass and the Crimea. It was a far cry from subpar performing one seen in Syria. Already it had required new tactics by armored forces throughout NATO. Russian forces when retreating loved to set them up in the oddest spots, it didn't matter if it was an expensive platform if the damn thing knocked out four tanks before dying. Not even in friendly territory were they safe without electronic warfare teams. Kowalski had already fought several in newly reclaimed territory and he couldn't wait for the Russians to run out of them. He knew most of NATO felt the same.

"Don't worry Kosh, our boys scoured every inch of this stretch overnight," he could just make out the hidden American paratroopers on the Russian held side of the Dnieper. 82nd Airborne troops had spent the better part of the night securing their side while engineers worked overtime to get the bridge done. It shocked everyone that the Russians had yet to respond to the crossing. Once the initial shock of the invasion had worn off and the battleline in Ukraine had been set at the Dnieper it was assumed offensives would have to be done in the north out of the Baltics or Poland. Perhaps the VVS in Ukraine had been whittled down to nothing.

Unfortunately for Kowalski's thoughts and the expectations of everyone, the VVS appeared. The shouting started at the rear with the Shilkas as the convoy reached the center of the pontoon bridge. Soon though it engulfed the entire convoy, "Contacts to the south! Fast and low!" He hopped off the tank and loaded his rifle. Five black dots to the south were growing fast. It was the worst possible situation for them to be caught in, in the middle of a pontoon bridge with low flying aircraft bearing down on them. No cover and no where to run, they could only stand and fight.

Every vehicle on the bridge turned their turrets to face the now clearly identified Frogfoots. Chaff spewed out the back of them as the Shilkas opened fire. One Frogfoot burst into flames and crashed into the river, four to go. Soon enough his skull rattled as the T-84s opened fire followed by the BMP-2s. It wasn't enough however, the Frogfoots released their rocket pods, striking the entirety of the convoy and sending them all into the river. Despite his training Kowalski panicked and found himself sinking unable to swim upwards, a T-84 passed him and hooked him via his rifle sling. A few more seconds of struggling were all he managed before falling unconscious.

**Time Unknown, Location Unknown, USMC-Ukrainian Army Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

Death was odd, he woke up on a river bank hacking up water alongside the others. They were no longer on the Dnieper once he looked around, there wasn't enough vegetation or soldiers. Oddly enough the Ukrainian army vehicles were scattered along the bank, upright and dry unlike the infantry. He shouted out, "Delta Platoon form up on Major Kosh's tank!" A variety of replies along with people furthering his request answered him. He grabbed a hold on Kosh's tank and hoisted himself up to bang on the hatch, "Kosh, it's me, Kowalski! Open up!"

It took a moment but the hatch flung open to reveal the bewildered and dry Ukrainian. Kosh looked around before speaking, "My idea of hell was different." He laughed at the man's response before getting serious, "Any idea where were at? My phone is to..." he pulled his phone out to find it damp from his clothing but still working. Instead of having taken a dunk in the Dnieper it was like it'd been stuffed into a wet pocket momentarily. Kosh was just as bewildered as him at the phone. Regardless of it's apparent survival he opened the map app on it where a message popped up saying it was unable to find his location. Instead it directed him to his last known location, a few miles west of the Dnieper. He cursed the phone and stowed it.

A cough came from behind him, the entirety of Delta Platoon was assembled before Kosh's tank. He wasn't sure what to do seeing as they were no longer within sight of allied forces. Though it would be prudent to establish security, "First and Second squads set up a perimeter. Third go scout and find us a road, Fourth and Fifth go around and check up on people, find Lieutenant Sutherland as well." The marines nodded and started to disperse when a loud growl engulfed the riverbank. A trio of large black bears with bones sticking out slowly lurched out of the tree line. One of his marines spoke, "Yo, the fuck are those!?"

"Fuck if I know marine, shoot them!" the entire platoon as well as Kosh fired on the critters. They broke into a sprint torwards the convoy only to be cut down in seconds as the BMPs and other tanks joined in. He was about to order someone to investigate when the bodies disintegrated into dust. "Giant Black Bears with bone armor and red eyes, what kind of fucking X-files shit is this?" the words from a sergeant garnered a few laughs while the rest eyed the tree line.

Kowalski changed his orders, "First and Second set up a perimeter and find Lieutenant Sutherland. The rest of you find a road, if you see any more of them things fall back to here. Check in every twenty minutes till you find a road or more bears." The three scouting squads were out of sight before he could turn around. He asked Kosh what his fuel was like, "We're all topped off plus what we have in the racks can go about four hundred klicks before we need to find supplies." He nodded, hopefully they could find supplies or at least some used cooking oil and a conversion kit. Kosh buttoned down into his tank with barely a word leaving him alone.

Their situation wasn't great, no allies in radio range, no supply lines, some freaky wildlife, and a lack of Russian aircraft. The last bit wasn't great either but at least it'd confirm they were alive and not in a weird purgatory. Kowalski didn't think they were dead despite some oddities like his phone and the Ukrainian vehicles being dry. Just to be sure he jumped off the T-84 and kicked the track, hard. Assuming pain didn't exist outside of hell and life they weren't dead. Him prancing for a second trying to ease the pain allowed Sutherland to sneak up on him, "Joe, where the hell are we?"

He shrugged and asked Sutherland how his men were, "We're all accounted for as well as the convoy. Seems like all of Major Kosh's men are here as well." All things considered they were in a good spot, while not quite an M1A3 or T-14 the T-84 was a formidable foe and BMP-2s weren't anything to scoff at. Combined with two platoons of fresh US Marines and a platoon of Ukrainian infantry that have fought the Russians for years meant they could bring the pain. It was just a matter of their supplies lasting. "Rich go get your men to set up a perimeter with mine. I've sent some scouts out so we should have an idea of where we're at soon." Sutherland left him to his own devices. The Ukrainians had Kosh to lead them, the Americans not so much. Both him and Sutherland were twenty-one, served the same years, and held the same rank. They'd need to figure something out eventually, he'd be fine with letting Kosh do everything seeing as the man was the equivalent of an American Major. On the other hand if he was selected to act as the liaison to Kosh then he would.

His radio crackled, "Delta Lead this Is Delta 5-1. We found a dirt road, requesting permission to advance down it and look for signs." Kowalski cleared them to do so, hopefully they had somehow just magically went down stream a hundred miles or so and everyone washed up within walking distance of one another. Kosh popped his hatch open, "Officers! Get up here!" Alongside himself and Sutherland were two Ukrainians. "Either of you Americans heard of a place called Mistral?" He looked to Rich who shrugged and motioned for him to answer, "Never heard of a place called that, just the French MANPAD." One of Kosh's subordinates suggested it being the name of a French base. It was a possibility but as far as he knew the French were mostly focused in Estonia and Latvia.

Kosh held a thoughtful look as silence settled in among the NCOs. It was interrupted by his Radio, "Delta 5 has made contact with hostiles. Look like some kind of poorly armed militia, maybe bandits based on the way they acted." Everyone around him along with himself were confused at Fifth Squad's description. Bandits didn't make a whole lot of sense, this wasn't war torn Syria or Afghanistan and even then bandits weren't that common. "Say again Delta 5," of course he knew what they said but maybe something got lost in the transmission. "Confirmed that hostiles are bandits not militia. Tribal markings and tactics confirm it," he told the three squads to return to them. Both Rich and the Ukrainians were silent. Wherever the hell they ended up was an odd place.

It took the three squads roughly half an hour to get back to them. They brought one of the bodies and the captured weapons to prove that they had fought bandits. Sergeant Vance explained the events, "One of my boys had to take a piss so we covered him. Guess these Billy Badasses thought they'd jump him and didn't see us." He picked up a one of the weapons, a large bore revolver. It held a three round cylinder and the bullets themselves were something else. Two were a cherry red color and looked like a crystal while the other was just plain lead.

"Did they get any shots off?" Vance shook his head. Kowalski inserted one of the red bullets and aimed at a tree. When he pulled the trigger there was a sizable hole in the tree after a small explosion. He looked at the revolver, it had barely kicked despite the result. "Did anyone follow you?" Vance shook his head. Kosh spoke, "We can travel four-hundred kilometers before needing fuel and we're in territory with firearms that can punch through my BMPs. I suggest we move before those bandit's friends come looking for them." Everyone agreed with Kosh. Wherever they were was just as dearly as Ukraine. It didn't take him long to set the roles, "Captain Kravets and his platoon will act as our scouting force while the Americans will guard our vehicles. I don't want one of these weapons getting near us until we can regroup with NATO or Ukrainian forces, if that's even possible."

**Sunset, Location Unknown, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

They'd put a fair distance between them and their point of origin. Kravet's and his men had scouted out a town to their East while the main force had set up camp on a hilltop. Without supply lines their vehicles couldn't be refueled but Kravets had noted the town held a gas station yet couldn't discern if it held diesel or not. It was something they'd need to scout out come morning. He was digging his own little hole in the meantime. Kowalski and his platoon were given first watch followed by Sutherland and then Kravets. They hadn't ran into any more bandits though there was evidence of them in the form of a looted horse drawn cart with the occupants dead and horses missing.

The other threat, the black bears were more of an issue, though after running into a vaguely wolf looking one the Ukrainians has started calling them demons. It was like they were attracted to the group. Attacks had subsisted later on in the day but before that it was a real concern they'd be out of ammo within a few days. The lack of contact with NATO, Ukraine, or even Russia was starting to concern everyone. Surely by now someone would've noticed the force via satellites or aircraft, they had stayed out in the open hoping to be seen but no aircraft had flown over.

"What the hell happened to the moon!?" His head shot up, the moon was shattered. The camp came alive with the news. He heard Kosh yell for everyone to quiet down and call for the officers. A tent had been set up against the side of his T-84, large enough for cot and the officers to gather. Kosh started the meeting, "Gentlemen, I don't think we're on Earth anymore. At first I thought maybe we somehow washed up much farther south but the lack of NATO or Russian transmissions combined with the moon and wildlife have made it evidently clear we are no longer on our world." A general agreement with the statement went around the tent. He couldn't argue with it, now the question was where exactly they had ended up.

"Kravets," the man's body stiffened, "I want you to take a squad of Americans along with a squad of your men and enter the town. Try and find a local that'll speak with you." Kosh looked at the rest of them, "Keep alert the rest of you. We no longer have allies, supplies, or support and our situation will deteriorate until we can find this city of Mistral where hopefully the local government can help us." They all nodded and saluted the Major with his silent dismissal. He didn't say much to his men but the news spread quick. A few of his own asked him about it and he told them what Kosh had said. Some were disheartened while others didn't seem to be affected. For Kowalski he didn't really care, he was single and an only child and while he would miss his parents he had already made peace with never seeing them again after being deployed to Ukraine. His only goal now was to ensure he and his men survived, no more worrying about Uran-9 ambushes or Russian artillery. He finished digging his firing hole and slipped into it for his watch.

**Morning, Location Unknown, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Sergeant Charles Vance**

Vance yawned as they strolled down the road. Captain Kravets was leading his squad and a squad of Ukrainians into the town. The night had been uneventful which was good as an attack might've scared the locals. A few marines claimed to have woken up to voiced but Vance hadn't heard anything. It could've been bandits possibly but they'd have to be incredibly dumb to try anything. His mental wandering was cut short as Kravets told them to be on alert.

The town was surrounded by a stone wall about ten feet in height and no more than two feet thick. The locals were thankfully human like them instead of weird aliens. Unfortunately the locals seemed a bit skittish, like they thought the Ukrainians and Americans were trouble. Kravets however wasn't going to be deterred and asked the first person not to shy away something in Ukrainian. He got a blank stare in return resulting in Vance stepping up, he spoke slowly unsure if the girl would understand English any better. He asked them where Mistral was and if they had diesel. Unlike Kravets they understood him but she was almost hostile in answering, "Mistral is to the east and we don't have any diesel for your Atlesians to steal."

"Atlesians? Lady I don't know what the hell that means. I just need some diesel for my ride," despite his words the woman held strong in her stance that they were 'Atlesians' trying to steal fuel under false pretenses. He shared a look with Kravets who handed him a slip of paper with questions written by Kosh. "Alright lady you can keep your diesel but I do have some important questions," when it came to the diesel he'd just wander over to the station and look for the nozzle, if they had one. He looked at the paper, "Where is this Mistral place? How far to it from here?" The answer dismayed both him and Kravets, to the east and at least a few days of walking. That was far out of range of their vehicles without refueling.

"You guys have any problems with bandits?" If the woman wasn't skittish before she was now. She quickly answered no and walked off. Kravets laughed a little bit, "Does Ukraine have trouble with Russians? No!" Even Vance could appreciate the joke. It appeared with their question about bandits had spooked all the nearby locals who spread the word. Everyone Vance tried to talk to shied away or told them to leave. At the last person to turn them away Kravets spoke a little louder than he usually did, "Let's check the station for diesel. I'd like for our vehicles to be able to move in a fight." It took Vance a few seconds to realize what he was doing. He wanted to draw the bandits out and cut them down. Considering they had tried to jump one of his men without checking for others it would likely be a slaughter.

Still they did have to check the station since the locals were unhelpful. It was just a little two pump outpost which didn't surprise him with the lack of vehicles. If it even had diesel he wouldn't bet more than a hundred gallons in the best circumstances. When they got to the station they heard an engine start up behind them. A man on a dirt bike shot past them in the direction the women had pointed torwards earlier when discussing Mistral. If his guess was worth anything they would have company soon enough. Kravets ordered them back to the camp after a quick look showed no diesel pumps.

**Shortly After Noon, East of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

His leg was starting to cramp waiting for these bandits to make their move. About an hour after Kravets and Vance returned their men watching the town reported a three platoons of bandits entering it. Two had taken to setting up defensive positions as the entrances while the other one had started questioning the locals. Josh had quickly set up a trap, him and Kravets remained on the hill in the established defenses. Sutherland and him were further down in hidden firing holes they'd dug when the bandits showed up in town. He was uncomfortably crouched down in a four foot deep hole waiting for Kosh to say they could spring the trap.

The watchmen radioed the bandits were heading torwards them via the road. Kosh confirmed he had sight a few moments later. All the bandits had to do was come up the hill right between him and Sutherland. Hopefully they could capture one or two and get a better picture of where they were. "Americans standby, hostiles are inbound," he gripped his rifle a little tighter as his head rate picked up just a hair. It was twenty minutes to village at a walking pace, five from the road to their position. He counted down the seconds between Kosh's last message and when heard footsteps, eleven minutes. The slit between the ground and his cover allowed him to view their legs as they cautiously advanced up the hill.

"Hit them now Americans," like a Pacific War flick his platoon sprung up from the ground. Around the hill Sutherland surely did the same. The bandits were positioned right between them. They had probably expected two well armed squads escorting a caravan instead of what they actually faced. What was a platoon sized group got rapidly cut down to the size of a squad who threw down their weapons. Shouting came from Sutherland's direction, "Cease fire! Cease fire!"

Him and his men clambered out of their holes. Bodies laid everywhere in the killing field created by them. A few bandits stood with their hands up shaking uncontrollably, one was even silently sobbing. "Restrain the survivors and look for a leader, dead or alive," he himself searched a few bodies but came up empty handed. One of Sutherland's men found a note describing the plan of attack but was otherwise worthless. Their only sources of information would be with the surviving prisoners. He grabbed the oldest looking one and dragged him up the hill ahead of everyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Information: Minimal, Firepower: Sufficient**

**Shortly After Noon, Location Unknown, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

The bandit he had picked out didn't resist being dragged up the hill. In fact not one of the prisoners resisted, they were all mentally broken after the ambush. Kravets and Kosh awaited him at the top of the hill next to a Shilka. "Here's the oldest of the survivors Major Kosh," he said. Kravets crouched infront of the man and studied him. He asked the man a question in Ukrainian and got a blank stare in return. "Can you understand me?" Once Kravets switched to English he got a nod. Kravets pulled out a notepad and pen, "What's the deal with you and the town? Why are they afraid of us?" The bandit sat silent until Kravets reached out and slapped him, "They provide us food and don't rat us out. In return we provide them protection from the likes of you and Grimm."

Kosh sidestepped the two and tapped his shoulder on the way past. He found the Major on the other side of the Shilka lighting a cigarette, "What's the issue sir?" Losh shook his head, "No issue Lieutenant. Kravets told me a woman in town accused them of being an 'Atlesian'." Whatever Kosh was implying was lost on him. He waited for an explanation from the Ukrainian, "Mistral has a Atlesian presence from the radio channels I picked up. Once we deal with these bandits I want you to go and find some of these Atlesians. See if they'll provide us fuel, food, even ammo if you can charm them."

"Sir should we be picking a fight right now?" Kowalski didn't want to get caught in a fight without supply lines or reinforcements. Defending themselves was a requirement but waging war on a bandit group in their situation seemed reckless. Of course it could just be a way for Kosh to keep everyone busy, keep them from freaking out over their predicament. His guessing at Kosh's game were cut short by the man, "We shouldn't but we all need a sense of normalcy right now." He had been right in his guessing and he supposed it did make sense.

Kravets came around the corner with his own cigarettes in hand. He offered one to Kowalski but he declined, it wasn't his vice. "Got a few answers before he turned into a loon," Kravets took a long drag before continuing. He had asked the bandit about the wildlife, Atlesians, and fuel before it fell apart. "The demons or whatever you Americans call them are called Grimm as you know. He claims they prey on the negative emotions people have," his words caused him and Kosh to pause. Kravets raised his hands, "I agree with you two. That issue aside he said the only place to get diesel nearby is to the north-west in a sea side town or east in Mistral. He said we'd be suicidal even with our tanks to go to the town, it's in another group called Branwen's territory."

"Did he say why?" Kravets shook his head. The three of them stood quiet for a minute. Kosh asked about the Atlesians, "He thought I was joking with not knowing about the demons but when I asked about Atlesians he lost it. What I managed to get out of him is that they're the super power here, militarily and economically." That was a good thing to hear. If these Atlesians could supply them then it'd be a matter of finding a way to pay. Kosh stamped his cigarette out and dismissed both of them.

The camp had settled after the ambush. A few men guarded the prisoners while other stood watch. He quickly found a ongoing card game and joined in. His platoon wasn't set for watch duty until after dinner. One of the BMP Commanders, three marines, and Sutherland were his opponents. Sutherland dealt him a hand once the current round ended, "What are you betting Joe?" The ground in the center of the group had a collection of candy, cigarettes, and other luxuries. With them no longer being in a place where their money was valid the pot had to be filled in other ways. He reached down into a pocket and tossed a trio of small mm packs into the center of the group and the other four at his feet. The first round went quick with one of the marines under his command winning.

"Lieutenant Sutherland is a talker Lieutenant Kowalski," the Ukrainian said as he dealt cards. His eyes shifted to the other American officer, "What'd he say?" A shrug came from the dealer, "Stories from your time in training." He looked at his hand and then Sutherland "What lies are you spreading Rich?" Sutherland laughed as he folded, "No lies Joe, just telling them about you wasting your time trying to hook up. Never thought I'd see a marine officer get turned down so much." Even the Ukrainian laughed at his supposed misfortune

"It's a lot harder when you ain't flaunting the bars in bars," he said. Snorts went around the group at his words. Two other marines folded with the fourth street and he did the same leaving the Ukrainian and one of Sutherland's men. Neither of the two players seemed ready to quit. He asked Sutherland a question, "So what's our friend's name?" The Ukrainian quickly said it was Nikita as he dealt the fifth street. Neither man folded, the marine showed his hand which was nothing impressive, a pair of eights with the community cards. Nikita revealed that he held a full house and now owned a pile of goods.

Nikita handed him the deck which he quickly shuffled. As he passed the cards out he realized he needed more items to gamble. He grabbed the attention of passing marine and asked for him to get his pack. When he got it he made a hard to beat big blind, two hand rolled cigars from his great-grandfather. The two marines belonging to his platoon let their shock show as did Sutherland, "You sure about that?" He shrugged, "I don't smoke but my great-grandfather sends me a dozen of them every chance he gets. I think I have about thirty in my pack right now." It was a win-win for him, he got to keep his paycheck when playing cards and his underlings that smoked liked him. His great-grandfather also got letters from those under him asking for more of them which he was happy to do.

While he was explaining the cigars another Ukrainian who Nikita introduced as Fedor joined. He collected the cards back up reshuffled them while Fedor dug through his own pack. Everyone settled in quickly as the game started back up, his hand was fairly good as long the community cards played nice. Fedor bet a small bag jerky and a travel can of coffee after seeing the hand rolled cigars. With those three items in the pool a few others put more desired items on the table. Items ranging from Belgian and German chocolates to small travel bottles of alcohol that somehow slipped by Uncle Sam and his Ukrainian equivalent were thrown in as no one backed down. Soon enough all the community cards were revealed and only Sutherland's man had backed out.

The pot by now had enough candy, snacks, tobacco, and booze for an MP's spider sense to start tingling. Fortunately they were a world or dimension away from one. Once the fifth community card came up he had to keep a straight face, he had a three of Queens and the community cards formed a royal flush bar the Ace. Assuming no one had the diamond ace or three of kings, he had won. Sutherland and Nikita folded immediately at the reveal leaving him, Fedor, and two marines. They all revealed their hands at the same time, Fedor and one marine were bluffing hard, he had his hand, and the unlucky marine to his left had a three of jacks. "Damn, didn't think anyone could top a three of jacks," the marine gathered up the cards as he spoke. Unlike him and Nikita the marine fumbled on his first attempt to shuffle.

Kowalski decided he wanted to abstain from the next round. He doled out the tobacco products to those in the group that wanted them. He gave the bluffers the cigars considering both had tried to win with unuseable hands. "Thanks sir. Hey, how come we never see you betting things your parents send you? You're always betting these cigars." He sighed, "They stopped talking to me once I signed up and sent me to my great-grandfather's hoping he'd talk sense into me which didn't happen. I didn't hear from my parents till we got deployed to Ukraine and I didn't respond." The marine nodded not really surprised. There were a few people among the platoon that had been blacklisted by their families. Though his great-grandfather had kept in contact with him unlike most of the others.

His great-grandfather had been with the Polish Forces in the West. Not only had he told him to do what he wanted but he had opened up on his service telling him the horrors of war and what to expect. Considering before that his great-grandfather has always been a stone cold man, it was a learning experience. Still it hadn't deterred him and his great-grandfather has supported him all the way. He even managed to show up when Kowalski finished boot camp. When his parents sent him a letter he was half tempted to tell them to piss off despite missing them. Instead he had tossed the letter and wrote one to his great-grandfather asking what to do. His great-grandfather's response was likely still on the way when they had crossed the bridge.

"Shit you never told me that Joe, that's rough man," Sutherland said. He shook his head, "It never came up." The group went quiet after that. He rejoined after a round and they played for what had to be an hour. Nikita and the bluffing marine came up big several times while him and Sutherland struggled to justify another round. Fedor won their last full round and managed to secure another cigar. Nikita was dealing the cards out when gunfire came from the road. They all jumped up with rifles in hand. Fedor and Nikita disappeared in the direction of their BMPs leaving Sutherland, the marines, and him. A RPG firing caused them to jump into action. Sutherland and his man split off to get their platoon and he sent his men to do the same. He went to asses the situation.

The fighting died off just as he got to the fight. Kravet's men were in their fortifications dug the night before. Around three dozen of what the bandit had called Grimm were laying across the hill. One body was a particularly large scorpion before it turned to dust. A few Ukrainians were of their trenches poking the larger bodies before they disintegrated. He found Kravet's speaking with Kosh. "They got about a third of the way to use before we returned fire, it was as if they were hounds chasing a fox Major," Kravets said. Kosh looked out at the battlefield as the last bodies faded away. Kosh spoke to him "I wanted to hold a few days before we went at these bandits but we need a better place to defend against those creatures. Lieutenant Kowalski get your platoon ready and have Sutherland do the same, we'll take the town tonight and the camp tomorrow morning." He nodded and turned to go find Sutherland. He found him on the otherside of Kosh's T-84 with two squads ready to fight. "Get your men set for a night attack Rich. We move on the town after dinner." Sutherland asked him what happened and he told him. Sutherland's surprise at the change to the time schedule was obvious but the man didn't say anything.

They split up again. His platoon was on the far side resting and making sure no one got around them. Sutherland's platoon was with the ZSU-23-4 Shilkas ensuring they had anti-air cover. He whistled as he walked through the platoon to get their attention, "Get your shit packed boys we're taking the town tonight."

**Sundown, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"Thunder," Kravet's scouts whispered the word as Kowalski approached. He replied, "Lightning." With the reply word issued the scouts lowered their weapons. They updated his platoon on the town's defenses. Both Bandit platoons had taken up residence at the entrances and the tallest buildings. The ones in the buildings didn't have sniper rifles but just regular assault rifles that the scouts guessed were in bad shape. He thanked the scouts and told them to get back to Kravet's and Kosh. It was the Marines time to shine, they'd take the town and then let Kosh and Kravets roll in uncontested.

The primary issue was going to be the fact they couldn't damage any of the buildings or walls significantly. Kosh had told them to be careful and not to lob SMAW rounds at a fortified position like what had happened in Sevastopol. He didn't need to be told that, destroying the village would only make their lives harder. Him and Sutherland had decided to strike like lightning and hopefully shock the bandits into surrender. Both platoons would hit the entrance closest to Kosh while marksmen took out the bandits in buildings. If everything went to plan they'd be in the town before anyone could react.

Before they could assault the town they needed it to be completely dark. The shattered moon seemed to always be full which could be an issue but they also had scattered clouds. Him and his platoon settled into the place the scouts had set up, a grove of trees large enough to hide a T-14 Armata. This was the first time anyone aside from Vance's squad had a look at the town. He wasn't impressed by it, it was small and couldn't hold more than three hundred people. Considering the viciousness of the local wildlife that required a pack with bandits he wondered why anyone would live here.

Night came quick and with it their NVGs flicked on. Him and his platoon were spaced out in the trees lying low. Their marksmen were posted at the scouts camp with a good view of the town. Across the road he could just make out Sutherland's men in similar positions awaiting for Kosh to give the go ahead. The bandits guarding this entrance seemed to not consider the idea of being snuck up on. They were chatting, playing games, and overall relaxed. It was soon going to get them killed.

"Assault teams you are cleared to begin your assault," Kosh's voice was low as he spoke. "Delta platoon open fire," he said. The bandits were cut down in the crossfire before they could react. Marksmen called out their targets while Delta and Charlie platoons rushed through the newly freed entrance. A bell began to ring somewhere within the town and civilians quickly locked up their houses. One of Sutherland's marksmen whispered in his ear, "Hostiles are splitting about three fourths of their platoon off to intercept you guys and the rest are bolting down the road." He shouted out to his men to hold up and get set for contact. They weren't in a particularly strong defensive position but they were facing bandits not Russians. He settled up against a low lying wall next to one of his machine gunners.

A shot rang out and a marksmen of his spoke over the radio, "Enemy officer down." In spite of their leader's death they could still hear the approaching war cries and whoops. The first portion of the bandit force came around the corner to be cut down by the awaiting M249s. The slaughter caused the rest to pause. He and his men waited anxiously to see what the bandits would do. "Marine go find Vance and tell him to take Fourth and Fifth Squads around the left to flush these fuckers out," he said. The machine gunner nodded and started torwards where Vance should be. Everyman near him was tense as they waited, the town had gone from a quiet night to utter chaos and back to a quiet night in a matter of ten minutes. Out of his left eye he could see a few civilians looking through blinds.

It wasn't another ten minutes before the night became chaotic again. Vance and his forces smashed into the flank of the bandits driving them out of their spot in a panic. The bandits came right to the two marine platoons and were caught in a nightmare scenario. He had to commend the bandits as none surrendered though it might've been due to them being cut down horrifyingly quick. Once the last bandit fell the town fell quiet for the final time. Sutherland told Kosh it was safe to move in while they got to work moving bodies. Kosh and Kravets when they arrived fortified the other side of town should the bandit's main force come knocking.

It took them the better part of three hours to get all the bodies out of the town. The ones that had been in the buildings were difficult to get to as the residents refused to even open doors just a crack to talk. Eventually him and Sutherland decided to commandeer a ladder and roll the bodies off their spots to the ground. Even if they were bandits neither wanted to disrespect the dead but the residents forced their hand. They placed the bodies on the side opposite of their camp, come morning they'd dig a mass grave. With the residents already likely traumatized they didn't need a disease beeeding ground right outside the gates.

Once the bodies were piled he went looking for a place to sleep. The residents wouldn't let them in unlike the bandits. He eventually settled in on the porch of a house. Sutherland walked up to him and laid their morning plans out, "Kosh and Kravets are taking all watch duties tonight. He wants us up at five and scouting the main camp out in preparation for him and Kravets." He nodded and asked about Sutherland's ammo situation, "We shot about a third so far and I've iinstructed the men to pace their shots." They'd really need Kosh's forces for the bandit camp. He also needed to get a move on in finding an Atlesian in Mistral. With the wildlife and bandits they'd be hard pressed to not run out of ammo within a week or two. "Go get some sleep Rich," said. Sutherland nodded and bid him goodnight.

**Middle of the Night, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Major Illya Kosh**

He checked his watch, another half hour before Kravets would take over. The town and its surroundings were quiet bar the insects chirping. There was nothing in his green tinted vision as he did another sweep before turning back in. Kosh already dearly missed Ukraine despite the war. This new place was far more foreign to him then anything he could think of. Yet he was stuck here with no way back and had to lead a group feeling the same. Even the Americans he could tell were already starting to feel homesick. The only one not showing signs was Lieutenant Kowalski though according to his second-in-command Nikita the man didn't have much at home.

"Sir I got movement bearing zero-seven-two. Looks like a demon," his gunner said. Kosh stick his head up through the hatch and sure enough he saw movement. He gripped his AKS and observed, it could be a deer or moose instead of a demon. He stood up just enough to see over the KT-12.7 HMG. Whatever was moving about wasn't a demon. "It's a deer or something Fedor," he said as he relaxed. Nothing was going to come in the night. The demons were likely sleeping or preying on others. Even if they did come the town was well fortified and protected now.

Someone knocked on his hatch, it was a BMP crewmember with a coffee pot in hand, "You guys need a drink?" Both him and Fedor nodded. The coffee was scalding hot but it didn't matter to him. Fedor powered down the gunner station as the two relaxed for the remainder of their watch. "Sir whats the plan if Lieutenant Kowalski fails to get us aid?" Fedor's questions surprised him. He had already come up with a second plan but the question was still a surprise. "We'll hunker down and have him go back. Eventually they'll have to offer us something," it wasn't a great backup plan but they didn't have a choice. Their tanks couldn't reach Mistral and their ammo wouldn't last a month. Food and drink would be no problem considering there were Americans and Ukrainians among the group that were avid outdoorsmen and hunters before their service but food and drink didn't kill your enemies.

Kosh's thoughts drifted to their prisoners. They were currently bound to a few lantern posts in the town. While they were sure to take more tomorrow he was trying to find a way to be rid of them. So far the best idea he had was making them work the farms in the area when they found them. Letting a bunch of bandits run free was just asking for trouble but they couldn't waste the men on watching them. He also knew the locals might just let them go instead of putting them to work. He'd need to ask the officers for ideas. Another knock came from his hatch. It was Kravets, "Kosh get some sleep. We'll finish out the watch."


	3. Chapter 3

**Some fella asked about putting the old story back up. Sorry man but you're gonna have to use wayback machine or see if someone archived it on their own. I only have the half finished Ch59 left.**

**Also probably should've said this earlier but if two Ukrainian characters are talking assume they are speaking Ukrainian.**

**Chapter Three: Go Home**

**Sunrise, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Major Illya Kosh**

"Bravo is moving to the camp. Alpha you are cleared to engage," he said into the radio. His T-84 lead the charge down the dirt road torwards the bandit camp. The marines had informed them the camp was surrounded on all sides by a trench at least ten feet wide and of the same depth. Perhaps if Kosh was a complete idiot and the bandits were smart he'd fall for it. Instead they'd dug the trench and cleared the area around their camp creating a hundred meter wide open area in every direction. Both the trench and the clear cutting would work against the bandits today.

Fedor called out, "Target straight ahead, one klick." Kosh cleared him to fire after checking the target was indeed the gate. The T-84 barely shook when the KBA-3 125mm gun fired. The bandits half a mile away probably thought they were being attacked with magic when their gate unexpectedly exploded. His tank raced down the road leading the convoy as they went for shock and awe. The screaming turbo-charged diesel engine was barely audible as he he doled out orders. By the time they reached the edge of the clear cut the marines were piling through breaches in the wooden walls. He hoped the bandits had spare wood to patch the walls up.

He ordered his driver to ram the weakend gate down. Few things in his mind were as terrifying as an MBT barreling torwards you at sixty-kilometers an hour. His tank burst through the wood into the camp with a jolt and the other three were not far behind. If the bandits were struggling against the marines they collapsed against him and Kravets. The Captain and his infantry poured out of the BMP-2s that followed his T-84s. His tank was nothing more than mobile cover now that they were in the camp. Kravet's and his men keeping behind as they rolled forward. By Kosh's watch it wasn't three minutes after his entrance before the bandits surrendered. He had to commend them, if a T-90 had barreled through his FOB's gate followed by several BMPs full of infantry he'd have thrown down his weapon instantly.

He ordered the prisoners separated into two groups, wounded and able bodied. They'd get the wounded stabilized and send them to village later while the able bodied would be sent there tonight. Time was of the essence now that they'd used up a lot of supplies dealing with the bandits. Kowalski needed to depart for Mistral as soon as he could. His T-84s were at a quarter tank and the BMPs and Shilkas weren't far behind, he could only imagine the ammo situation for the marines. They wouldn't be able to go anywhere but they would fortify the camp to absurd levels. Hopefully it'd be enough until Lieutenant Kowalski returned, preferably with fuel and weapons. However he wasn't counting on it, strange men armed to the teeth and smelling of death asking for weapons and fuel in an embassy usually doesn't go well.

He called out for the officers to meet with him in ten minutes. They needed to get everything set before Kowalski's trip to Mistral was undertaken. "Sir! I can report we've taken fifty-three prisoners," Sutherland was the first to say something. One of Kravets' subordinates reported the dead at ninety-eight. He spoke, "That's all good but we need to discus the trip to Mistral. Lieutenant Kowalski how many men do you need?" All eyes turned to the American. "I'll take my two best squads, First and Fifth. A smaller force is able to move quicker and we don't know what it'll take for Mistral or the Atlesians to supply us," Kowalski didn't miss a beat as he laid out his reasoning. Kosh hesitated to agree at first, if the wildlife got rowdy then they'd be dead. Eventually though he agreed as they couldn't let five squads go off for an unknown amount of time.

"Who will Command in your place?" Kravets asked. Kowalski pointed to Sutherland who agreed. "If Sutherland needs to he can put Sergeants Fedorov or Williams in charge of Delta," Kowalski said and again Sutherland agreed. With the mission to Mistral set they moved to other matters. "Kravets assign two of your squads to escort the non-injured to the town. We'll move the injured tomorrow," he ordered. Kravets left the tent at once to see it carried out. He turned to Sutherland, "You get the perimeter set up and start digging the trench to cut off the gate I ran through." Sutherland followed Kravets example and left immediately leaving him and Kowalski. He told the remaining American to leave by noon and to make haste. Their survival beyond next week depended solely on him.

**Noon, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

**"**Be quick man, this place is fortified but I don't like it," he nodded to Sutherland's words. They bumped fists before he lead the two squads out of the encampment. The women in town had said it was about four days of walking, he wanted to do it in two by marching through the night. The marines had go pills from when they were advancing torwards Russia not Mistral. The quicker they could get to Mistral the less chance of Kosh and the others being killed. He motioned for Vance's squad to take lead, "Keep your eyes peeled for the wildlife."

First squad's leader, Sergeant Cole asked him a question, "What's the story when we get to this place sir?" It was good question that stumped him. He told Cole he had no idea what to say. Personally he thought the truth was believable. They were wearing gear and using equipment that'd prove it, his rifle alone should be enough proof for rational minds with all its markings. He was more concerned about convincing a nation to supply a completely unknown group. This wasn't Earth where the US air dropped a few thousand rifles to its resistance group of the month. This world didn't even seem that destabilized compared to Earth, they'd yet hear any whispers of war or conflict.

He told Cole to come up with a few ideas and pitch them to him when they stopped. Their first stop wouldn't be until it was time for a short dinner which would be followed by more marching. He wanted to go until everyone was drop dead tired and then a little farther. Their go pills weren't Bolivian marching powder but it'd keep them going for a little while. It was just a matter of surviving long enough to use them. This place's wildlife freaked him out more than his first combat encounter.

They settled into a routine before the first hours passed, every hour the two squad swapped places while he stayed torwards the middle. Conversation sprung up here and there before dying down just as quickly as it'd started. Despite the possibility of bandits or wildlife they were all relaxed. Even he found himself at ease during the march. This place wasn't quite Afghanistan or Ukraine where every bend in the road brought the possibility of a Taliban or Russian ambush. It however also wasn't suburban America or the French countryside. Occasionally the group instantly got into combat mode when they heard noises in the forests on either side of the road but nothing had happened.

His thoughts were curtailed by Vance, "Sir do you think we'll go home?" He shook his head, "I don't think so." Strangely Vance seemed sigh in relief. "What's the matter Vance?" he asked. Vance walked silently for a couple minutes before speaking, "I'm about ninety percent sure the letter in my pack isn't anything good. I don't have to read it if we're stuck here right?" He nodded, no point in worrying about events no longer relevant to them. If it was a Dear John letter then Vance was probably saving himself by assuming they were stuck.

"Listen to me and tell this to your men too," Vance looked at him, "until we get back to Earth nothing from there matters, the only thing we are to worry about is survival," he said. Vance nodded but didn't say anything. "You don't seem particularly worried about getting back sir," Vance said after a few minutes. "Only person I give a shit about back home is my great-grandfather, rest can rot," he said.

"Private Maroon is in a similar boat, I believe his parents said they hoped he died which doesn't surprise me with what else he's said," he had to wince at Vance's words. His parents had merely said don't talk to them again after he returned. Wishing death upon your kid for signing up was something else entirely. He'd have to talk to Maroon and see how he was holding up. Vance and him walked quietly after that bar a comment about people being terrible.

Their first stop came at sundown after what was, by his watch's estimate, a six hour march. They took up residence among the roots of a large tree in the side of the road. Beef teriyaki MRE was what they had for dinner, not his favorite but not the worst offered by Uncle Sam. It was a quiet dinner, despite the earlier relaxedness they were now listening closely as their visibility deteriorated. When they finished everyone took out the little plastic package holding their go pills. Command had told them they were the new ones the Air Force used after Tarnak Farms and the package did indeed read the correct name. "Take care of any business and let's get moving in five," he shouted.

The first hint of trouble came two hours into the night, Cole's squad halted. Vance and him snuck up to Cole, "Sergeant what's the issue?" Cole motioned for them to get down and whispered, "Something crossed the road up ahead, bipedal, not an animal. Think we might have an ambush ahead." He asked if they knew the marines were there and Cole shook his head. He looked down the red, there wasn't an indication of trouble but if Cole saw something then they needed to watch out. "Get your squads off the road and give me a man each. If someone's down there we're gonna jump them after they jump us," he said.

His men scurried off the road into the forest leaving just him and two privates to spring the trap. He told the men to turn off their night vision just incase these ambushers had flashlights. They approached the area Cole had pointed out like nothing was wrong. He cracked jokes with the two marines and spoke loudly. Somewhere in the dark were the marines and ambushers. "Sir," one of the men with him whispered with his voice full of fear, "There's a wire."

**Night, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Diplomatic Force, Sergeant Charles Vance**

Someone was ahead of them but he wasn't sure where. Up by Kowalski the grass was matted down like someone had been constantly running along it. It was just dark enough that he was struggling to make anything out in the forests even with night vision. He could see Lieutenant Kowalski and the two marines on the road but that was it. Kowalski turned to one of the men before him and those with him went stiff. "Move up and find the ambushers boys, somethng spooked the eltee," he said.

They were a good fifty yards behind Kowalski and it'd take them ten minutes to get parallel with him. Bar the usual night sounds it was quiet and every time he accidentally stepped on a leaf or moved through high grass was nothing but agony. This stealth stuff wasn't for him, he'd joined the Marines to go in loud and proud. He was on the verge of ordering a flare to be thrown when a voice came from infront of him, "You three on the road! Drop your weapons and strip yourselves of your gear!" He looked backed behind him and motioned for everyone to spread out. The voice couldn't be more than twenty or thirty feet but he couldnt see shit and neither could his men.

Suddenly gunfire came from across the road. Cole's squad was lighting into the forests on their side, tracers skipped and bounced. The impromptu light show was cut short by movement in front of them, a person nearly ran him over. Said person made his nearly 6'7" frame look tiny. After a moment of shock they started to grapple. He was quickly losing the fight, his training couldn't outdo the size difference. No matter what he did he couldn't get the advantage on the man. His assailant quickly threw his arms off before grabbing onto his throat and squeezing. Just as he was about to pass out three shots came from his left and the man dropped. One of his men rushed over and checked him for wounds while he stared in shock at body before him. He hadn't notice it while fighting but it had tusks like a boar. The man looking over him noticed the tusks, "What the fuck? What the fuck is with this place?"

He didn't say anything to the comment, he was trying to get the breathe nearly choked out of him back. The boar man had to be nearly pure muscle with how quick he had overwhelmed and nearly choked him. Vance was in his physical prime and this guy had made him look like a ten year old trying to square up with the Terminator. He felt someone roughly push his shoulder, "Sir you need to get up." The fighting had stopped and everyone bar him and the marine were on the road inspecting something. He slowly got his feet and joined the others. They needed to see the boar man.

"Sir," he said, "There's something you need to see." He directed the marine with him to get a few men to drag the body out. While they did that he looked at what everyone else was, an IED. A corporal was carefully pulling it out of the ground, "It's nothing serious, looks like a few firecrackers, some black powder, and a red crystal. Probably meant to scare the piss out of some poor civvies." Everyone relaxed once they knew they weren't standing next to a live one-fifty-five shell.

Grunts from the direction the four marines had gone drew their attention. They dragged his attacker out onto the road, the deceased's animal feature much clearer out from under the canopy of the forest. "Homeboy here must've been taking steroids and going to the gym since he could walk," one of the marines said between breathes. The man had to easily weigh close to three-hundred pounds if not more and was built like a tank. Cole knelt next to the body and lifted one of the arms up, "Holy fuck Charles, and I thought you were a big boy."

One of Charles men leaned past his shoulder to look at the body. He recoiled upon seeing the tusks, "He's got tusks on his face! What the fuck is with this place and weird shit?" A few murmurs and shrugs were the response before Kowalski told them to fall in and get moving again.

**Morning, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Main Force, Major Illya Kosh**

"Open up! Raven said today was the exchange date!" Kosh sat atop his T-84 looking through a crack in the gate. There was a man, another bandit from the group to the north. He was screaming about some kind of deal regarding food as Kosh polished his apple off. As far as anyone could tell this man was the scout for the trade caravan coming down and he was to finalize the deal as well. Kosh motioned for the gate guards to open it up while he racked the HMG's bolt. This bandit was going to deliver a message.

Their guest stumbled back when the gates swung open to reveal the MBT. "Identify yourself!" Kosh shouted. "Who the hell are yo-" he shot one round to the left, "Cervin!" He asked Cervin what he wanted, "Branwen made a deal with the previous group to provide food in return for ammo." Fedor's voice came from below with a quip about needing to go elsewhere. Kosh studied Cervin for a second, the lanky man didn't strike him as particularly bright.

"This camp is now in the hands of the Ground Forces of Ukraine and it's NATO allies, tell Raven he or she needs to look elsewhere for food," he said. His words garnered the reaction he wanted, confusion. Cervin stood there like an idiot for a few a moments. Kosh was hoping he'd leave them alone after what he said. His hope was crushed when Cervin spoke, "Do you want to make a deal?" The gate guards laughed, Fedor laughed, even he laughed a little at the question. Cervin became indigidant at the laughter and demanded a trade. He cut his laugh and turned serious, "Listen bandit, we don't deal with your ilk."

"You're a bandit just like me! Fancy guns and vehicles don't change that," Kosh had half a mind to shoot the bandit and be done with it. Instead he issued him a warning to leave backed with his HMG. Cervin tried to say something but he put a round between his feet. The idiot got the message and started to walk away. He quickly scampered off into the forest after another shot from a gate guard. Fedor called up, "I'll commend him for his balls to demand a trade while staring down my gun." He has to agree with Fedor.

Kravet's appeared at his right, "You think he'll be back?" He shook his head in response. If Cervin did come back with Branwen combat troops it'd be a one sided slaughter more so than the assault on this camp was. Barring a surplus of tandem warhead equipped rockets there wasn't much in the way of threats to his tanks. The Shilkas and BMPs were more vulnerable to the hand held weapons around here but they held the defensive advantage. An assault on their position would be deadly to the attackers.

He asked Kravets about the wounded bandits. Kravets said most were ready to go and those that weren't were going anyways. The medics had worked overnight with what he had cleared to be used. A few had died on the table or beforehand but they had been considered the worst off. Even if he had cleared the medics to use their full kit there were doubts they'd have survived. 5.45 to the intestines tended to do that.

"Get them ready to move and take your whole platoon," he said. Kravets tried to protest taking his whole platoon but he shut the man down. Lieutenant Sutherland's men along with his tanks could hold the camp. If trouble did arise the town wasn't far and Kravet's could be in a prime position to flank the attackers. That was of course if the attackers were humans not beasts.

**Time Unknown, Location Unknown, Unit Unknown**

"My Grimm here," she tapped the map, "something's attracting them." Where she had tapped was a red dot denoting high activity by her creatures. Something or someone was attracting her Grimm there, more so than a few scared villagers. It was intriguing to say the least. She looked up at the hulking man across the table, "Find out what's attracting them."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: US-Atlas Relations**

**Noon, Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Diplomatic Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"Hell," Vance came to a stop, "Sir, I don't think we can go much farther." He shook his head, he was tired as well but they were in sight of Mistral. No one in the group had more than six hours of rest in the last sixty hours but that could wait. All they needed to do was get to the Atlesian embassy and make their case. They were close enough to Mistral he could make out the mountain city's buildings. He told Vance and Cole once they got within the city they could rest while he dealt with the embassy. They wouldn't be needed in trying to get a meeting with a diplomat.

Barring the attempted ambush and Vance's attacker they hadn't run into any trouble. Even the checkpoint they ran into before coming into sight of Mistral had barely glanced at them. He was getting a feeling that heavily armed groups were common around here. No one payed them any mind, not even Cole's SMAW team. He supposed it was better to not be noticed, less chance of trouble. With them all dragging their feet trouble would only be bad for them.

Cole spoke up from the rear, "Do we even know what the hell this damn embassy looks like?" He replied they could always ask someone which prompted Vance to remind them of the village. "Anyways, it's gotta have like a flag or something right?" he said. Of course he knew they didn't know what even Mistral's flag looked like let alone the Atlesian one. Not one had been present at the checkpoint, just a few soldiers ensuring the wildlife stayed out of the ground routes. The men at the checkpoint had said Grimm activity was high outside the city, he was still trying to figure that name out.

A few marines sat down and were out like lights before he could say anything. "Take thirty men," he shouted. Most of his force took up a spot among the trees at his words. As much as he was gung ho to find the embassy he couldn't do it with men fast asleep. If he could be honest with himself he'd probably pass out when meeting with the ambassador. The go pills had been a great aid in their through the night march but they weren't magic. Vance told him to get some rest.

A low rumble entered the valley from behind them. It turned into a loud roar when a grey aircraft with vague V-22 shape passed over head. The tilt-jet banked left around the main mountain holding Mistral and landed out of sight. Vance spoke up, "Think that was Atlesian?" Another marine said he made out the letters 'AAF' on the body. Everyone stood around unsure what to do. It was their lastest and only lead but they had just stopped for rest. He repeated his earlier words, rest for a short period before moving. One way or another they were finding the damn embassy so might as well get some sleep beforehand.

**Afternoon, Atlesian Embassy in Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Diplomatic Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

The only thing separating the Atlesian Embassy from its neighbors was the tilt-jet and oddly rigid soldiers in some kind of body armor. They creeped him and his two escorts out, they didn't say a word but tracked them as they approached. He stopped before them and asked to be let in but they simply stood with their rifles at ease. "Sir I don't like this," a marine said. It wasn't hard to agree with his man. After another failed attempt at talking to them he started to walk past. The guards reacted and raised their rifles causing him to back off. They hadn't even gotten in the damn building and it was already blown. Someone with a visible face appeared, a officer of some kind, "Identify yourself and state your business!"

He looked back at his men then to the officer, "Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski, United States Marine Corps. I'm trying to find an Atlesian official who can help supply the joint Ukrainian-American force I'm apart of." The Officer looked at him as though he had sprouted a second head. An awkward silence grew before the officer snorted, "Real funny kid, did FIBS team put ya up to this? I know Serinus is still pissed about the horse race." The officer laughed a bit more, likely thinking they were a hilarious joke. Considering what was on the line he didn't find it as amusing.

"Look guy, I don't know where the fuck I am. I got fucking bombed into a river by the Russian Air Force with my men and woke up in this crazy ass Narnia rip-off full of aggressive wildlife and men with boar tusks a week ago. Cut the shit and help me out here," he let his annoyance slip into his words. Even if he did sound like a nut he had men counting on him for their survival. This jackass officer should consider it serious even if it was a joke. Unfortunately his word only served to anger the officer, "Kid you're going to turn around and walk away before I beat you senseless for talking to an Atlesian officer like that." One of his marines sniggered at the remark. Him and the officer were of similar age but he'd bet on himself every time.

He stepped back, gathered the last of his strength, and decked the officer. "I have a company of ken counting on me to ensure their survival, get me someone I can talk with," he said. The officer recovered himself before turning and walking away with out a word. One of his men spoke, "I think we just blew our chance sir." He shook his head, "It's an embassy not a military base, take my rifle and pistol and wait here." He deposited the weapons in the hands of the quiet marine and started torwards the two guards. Without his weapons they let him pass. They were still quiet and creepy but didn't give him any further trouble.

Inside the embassy was the officer complaining to a white haired woman. The officer pointed torwards him, "There, that's the soldier that assaulted me! What unit is he in?" The women looked at him and he held his hands up, "Mam I have about a hundred-fifty men relying on me to secure supplies and your subordinate here thought I was a joke set up by one of his comrades. He was not amused when I became annoyed with him and threatened me," he defended himself. He added on after a second, "I don't know much of this place but we're willing to do a lot in return for fuel, food, ammo, and a way back home."

"Captain return to your quarters," the woman turned to him, "Follow me, Ambassador Stahl should be free." He followed the 29'an while speaking into his radio, "Privates go find Vance and Cole. I'm going to be awhile." The woman raised her eyebrow, "My men mam, they're trying to find a place to sleep. We've gotten six hours of sleep in the last seventy-two." It amazed him he was still up, it wouldn't surprise him if he blacked out before the end of the day. His guide didn't say anything about his sleep deprivation or the fact he had tired and armed men running about the led him to a door with a name plate and opened it. He went in to find a woman dressed as he imagined any ambassador.

"Operative Winter who is this?" she asked. Operative Winter closed the door behind them. She spoke, "I don't know mam. He said he came here to receive aid from us." Stahl studied him, he had to be in his best behavior now, no swearing, name calling, or insults. Stahl caught him off guard at first, "Well? Are you going to speak?" He sputtered for a second, this diplomacy shit wasn't his speed. "Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski of the United States Marine Corps. I'm representing Major Kosh of the Ukrainian Ground Forces and his combined USMC-Ukrainian currently stuck about one-hundred or so klicks to the west of here," he got it all out in one breathe, barely and perhaps a little too fast. Kosh had placed his absolute faith in him to get this done, that meant he had to get it done.

Stahl professed his words. He wondered what she'd ask first. "Operative lock the door," an audible click came from the door. "Okay, Lieutenant Kowalski, explain to me why you aren't a bandit with a creative mind and a uniform hoping to con us," Stahl said. Something poked into the base of his neck at her words, he about pissed himself. They thought he was a bandit, the morons. He'd have to be a dumbass bandit considering this place was a lion's den for them.

Stahl was watching him intently and he was sure Operative Winter was as well. He slowly reach into his pants and retrieved his phone and turned it on. "Here," he laid it it down, "Look through that." His phone had close to three-thousand photos, most junk and duplicates but in this case it'd work. He waited apprehensively as Stahl slowly navigated the phone. At first she tried doing something with her desk before moving to the phone itself. Even if he was a bandit trying con them the work he would have to put in should earn him the supplies. An entire world, three thousand edited photos, his gear, all of it would take skills he didn't have to fake.

Stahl called over Winter, the blade against his neck went away with her. She pointed at something on the screen and Winter looked closer. While they were doing that his radio started making noise. He cringed as it filled the room, he was sure he'd muted it. "Lieutenant can you hear me?" Cole was on the other side with a bit of excitement. The two women watched him intently as he pulled the radio out. "Someone better be dying or you've found us supplies Cole," he said through gritted teeth.

Cole spoke after minute, "Negative sir but you remember Tuskman?" Of course he remembered Tuskman. They were still trying to figure him out, the best guess was a birth defect or growth issue of some kind. He told Cole he did, "Well one of my boys went into a bar to piss and out walked this guy with god damn cat ears! Fucking cat ears and they were real ones at that!" He asked Cole to repeat what he said before responding, "Sergeant you're probably hallucinating the ears. Get our men to a safe place and rest while I finish up here, understood?" Cole protested that he was sure of what he saw but he shut the radio off. He looked at the women, "As I'm sure you heard one of my men was hallucinating up people with animal traits."

Stahl spoke first, "You don't know the Faunus?" He shook his head and asked what that meant. "They're close relatives of humans but with animal traits," she said. Before he could respond Stahl ordered Winter to escort him back to his camp and inspect his unit. He cut in, "Now hold on a minute, you just casually drop the fact that there's human's with animal traits and expect me to believe that? What about thinking I'm a bandit?"

"I've met a lot of ignorant and remote people Lieutenant but even they knew of the Faunus," Stahl left it at that. "Well regardless of that my men can't march back without at least a nights rest, possibly two," he said. Stahl changed her orders, she told Winter to have men clean out a spare storage room. The only good thing he could see was it was indoors and heated. Sleeping out in the woods without H-barriers and tents was for the birds.

He wanted to know though why his unit was to be inspected, "Mam, if I may ask, why are we to be inspected?" The response was face looking at him as if he were an idiot. "If you are what you claim to be then it shouldn't be an issue for you to operate as part of Atlas in return for supplies," Stahl said matter of factly. He countered immediately, "I came here to work out a deal for fuel and supplies not to jump ship from the USMC. We'll find other ways to pay." The tension from before returned. He wanted those supplies but he wasn't going abandon his duty. Stahl muttered something he couldn't make out. The situation was deteriorating and he might be going back empty handed. He'd fucked it up and failed Kosh.

"If you want supplies you're going to have to give something in return and I doubt your group can pay the price. Either sign the papers when the time comes or starve," Stahl said. Winter whispered into her boss' ear, probably in regards to him saying in the lobby that they'd do anything for supplies. He should've watched his words. The idea of agreeing to fight for a country other than his didn't sit well with him. However they needed supplies, he'd need to swallow the hard pill and sign the papers while hoping Kosh and the others saw it like that. Stahl coughed drawing him out of his planning, they were awaiting an answer. He agreed, relunctantly, but specified he couldn't guarantee the others would agree which thankfully Stahl acknowledged. He excused himself to round up his men and return for the night.

**Afternoon, Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Diplomatic Force, Sergeant Charles Vance**

Vance unlike Cole had stayed where the Lieutenant left them, a rather large park set on a terrace. They'd taken up position in a remote section with overrun trails and tightly packed trees and bushes. They'd seen a few joggers but by far the area was quiet and very close to the embassy. Cole had gone with a few of his men to look for other means of supply at the Lieutenant's suggestion. He personally thought it was too risky with their current situation but Cole thought otherwise.

Footsteps came from the front, closer than any before. The marine to his left issued the first word, "Thunder!" The marine on his right shouldered his rifle awaiting the reply, "Flash!" Everyone eased up hearing their leader's voice. He came stomping out of the brush looking exhausted. "How'd it go sir?" He asked. Kowalski sighed and sat on a tree stump, "We're going to be inspected by some gal called Winter. If she finds everything acceptable we'll get our supplies in return for serving Atlas."

A marine next to him spoke up, "What about our service to the US?" Agreements came from the rest of the assembled group. He himself agreed with the men. "I know the feeling but look at it this way boys, we don't know when or even if we can go home. Until then we gotta do what we must to survive and if that's agreeing to serve a country that's not our own then so be it," Kowalski's words seemed to be halfway between a explanation and an order. He was dismayed to hear Kowalski plainly state they might not be able to go home. As much as he feared that letter in his pack the thought of not be able to go back depressed him just a bit.

No one said anything regarding his word but the mood of the group had changed. It was quieter somehow and he could see some of his men were downtrodden at the words. He was sure the Lieutenant knew what effect his words had but the man didn't seem to note the reaction. Instead Kowalski gave them more orders after a moment. Vance was to take his squad and go to the embassy while he took Cole's men and went and got the roaming marine and his group. Kowalski made it clear to him to be on his best behavior. He wasn't sure why Kowalski felt that needed to be clarified unless they were on thin ice despite the agreement. "Let's get going fellas," he ordered, "I wanna sleep under a roof tonight."


	5. Chapter 5

**Bit on the shorter side.**

**Chapter Five: 18th Century Diplomacy**

**Three days since Kowalski left, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Main Force, Major Illya Kosh**

"Major!" the marine offered a cup of coffee with his acknowledgement. The American was seemingly running on instinct as his eyes struggled to stay open while he poured the cup. He told the man to get some rest after taking the cup. "Can't sir, not after what those savages did to the scouts," the marine replied. Kosh forcefully told the man to get some rest and told him he was no use if he fell asleep mid-battle.

His radio chirped, "Major we're waiting on you. Moroz and the scout reported in just now." He looked back at the marine then to his companion was more alert, "Make sure your friend sleeps, we'll deal with the bandits." The marine nodded and started dragging his friend torwards one of the still standing tents.

Kosh wondered if he should do rounds after the meeting, ensure men were getting proper rest. The previous nights actions had everyone tense but he wasn't leading zombies, they needed food and rest. The former was freely available with the captured stock but the latter needed to be carefully managed with their current situation.

Hopefully the scout would say it was wildlife and everyone would relax a little. A freak wildlife attack was far better than the alternative. He checked his watch and made for the command tent. The two guards did the mandatory check and let him in to be greeted by his command structure. Three Ukrainians and two Americans stood around the central table though one of the Americans was an enlisted man. Lieutenant Sutherland introduced him, "Major Kosh this is Specialist Baker of Kowalski's 2nd Squad. He was with Sergeant Vovk when the attack happened last night."

Baker waited for Losh to introduced him to the Ukrainian officers. "Sergeant Edwards asked me to run a message to Sergeant Vovk shortly before 0100 regarding a good scout campsite. While the Sergeants were looking over the area we came under heavy gunfire," Baker said and the room's mood changed. Kosh didn't like what he was hearing but the truth couldn't be changed. He motioned for Baker to continue, "We responded right back and at first it seemed like we had the upper hand till something cut through our left flank and left three of our ten dead. At first we assumed it was the wildlife getting in on the action but it wasn't, I think."

Kravets cut in, "You think?"

Baker nodded, "Whatever it, or I guess 'she' was, wasn't human. Swinging those damn axes around like plastic swords and dancing through our bullets like a ballerina. I'm pretty sure Corporal Anderson barrel stuffed her and it did nothing. Once we started dropping quick Vovk told us to bolt, I didn't need to be told twice."

"Did they take any of our men alive?" he asked. Baker shook his head and said he wasn't sure. He'd been more focused on getting back to the camp instead of listening. None of the officers could fault the marine, he'd been told to run and did exactly that. Captain Moroz, the BMP section leader, spoke, "A few men went up there this morning, six bodies, two blood trails likely belonging to our men, and surprisingly all ten of our weapons. They definitely took at least three as Specialist Baker was the only one to make it back."

"And the enemy?" Sutherland asked. Moroz responded that others found a few serious trails and a few not so serious alongside bloody bandages and rags. There were also a lot of spent shells laying around according to Moroz. Vovk and Edwards were dead but they'd done a number on the bandits it seemed

The typically quiet Shilka section leader, Boyko, spoke up, "We have three men in enemy hands, we're missing two of our squads, and we're running out of supplies. We need to smash these bastards, steal their shit, and get our boys back." Kravets sarcastically asked Boyko how he planned to do so with the mentioned issues. "Maybe you can ask the villagers for their vegetable oil, I'm sure we can gather enough for our tanks if we ask nicely," the infantry Captain mocked.

"That's enough Captain Kravets, Boyko isn't stupid enough to recommend action without a plan," Kosh looked to Boyko and asked what he had in mind. Boyko leaned over the map the previous owner's had unwillingly left outlining everything they needed to know. He tapped a spot that marked the bandit camp to the north, "Their camp is right here, two-hundred kilometers. We siphon the fuel into both Shilka's and I go with two or three squads to get our men."

Sutherland spoke up in favor quickly, "I like it, these bandits probably still think they're top dog. We'll show em ya don't fuck with us."

Kravets and Moroz both advised against it but for different reasons. Moroz thought it was too risky, he felt they were expending too much for too little gain. Kravets would rather they send two T-84s with the infantry. That left him to decide on their course of action though he was used to it.

Kosh liked Boyko's plan, it was solid assuming it worked in full. A Shilka with its monstrous fire rate could shatter prepared infantry units rapidly, bandits would be no issue. It might be better to send two T-84s but Boyko's unit had done nothing but twiddle their thumbs. Battering soft targets like a infantry encampment would serve them well and keep them trained. He was concerned about the small arms these bandits no doubt had, Shilka armor was not the greatest out there.

Still he accepted the risk. "Get the Shilka's fueled and select two squads, one American and one Ukrainian. As soon as you know where our men are gun the rest of the camp down," he ordered. Boyko and Moroz quickly left to begin the fueling process.

Kravets selected his squad without a second thought. Sutherland took more time, he muttered to himself and counted with his fingers for several minutes. The American apologized and said he needed some more time to decide. Sutherland stepped out of the tent for five minutes then came back, "Sir I'd like to suggest Staff Sergeant Fedorov lead the American contingent."

"No, anyone but him," Kravets denied Sutherland's request vehemently. Sutherland went to respond but he cut in, "Kravets one more interruption will see you placed on night watch." He could tell Kravets was fuming silently. The Captain left quietly leaving him and the American officer alone.

While he didn't quite disagree with Kravets' denial he wasn't going to shut down Sutherland without explanation. There weren't many Ukrainians in his unit that liked or even tolerated the Russian-American. He asked if Sutherland had absolute trust in the man. Sutherland nodded, "There's a guy that dragged me out of a burning MRAP that I trust less than him."

**Late Morning, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Main Force, Staff Sergeant Anton Fedorov**

"Why in God's name do you even have these?" he asked. Sergeant Williams shrugged, "My brother grows the crazy things. They ain't ghosts or reapers, something way milder but still hit hard." Williams handed out the blood red peppers to those that wanted one. The corpsman to his right and himself both shook their heads when offered one. "Ya'll ain't getting shit from me when this backfires," the corpsmen walked off after that.

"Fedorov, Williams, get your asses over here!" Lieutenant Sutherland's voice came from the direction of the working gate. Edwards was frozen mid bite before setting the pepper back into the bag it came from. Fedorov grabbed his rifle and got a head start, Williams quickly caught up. They found Sutherland near the Shilkas. Said vehicles were having fuel siphoned into them. He noted Captain Kravets nearby watching his every move while addressing a squad of Ukrainians.

"Fedorov you're taking Williams and his squad on a rescue mission north," Sutherland barked out. The Lieutenant filled them in on the mission. Fedorov had been on watch when Baker came sprinting out of the woods like the devil wasn't far behind. He however hadn't heard about the fact they had men taken hostage. Both him and Williams voiced concerns about him going. Sutherland replied quickly, "Baker said some of the bandits like to get real close, Fedorov isgood at that stuff."

"According to Baker they got this one chick that's quick as hell and'll gut you before you can bring your rifle up," Sutherland sounded uncovinced as he recounted Baker's description of the fight. He glanced torwards Williams who also didn't seem convinced. None of them knew Baker well and while they didn't think he was lying combat did do strange things to one's memory. What might have been an axe wielding ballerina might've just been an hatchet wielding bandit with a streak of luck. Still deadly but decidedly easier to deal with.

"Does Boyko got issue with me sir?" He asked. Sutherland shrugged and told him if he did it wasn't like Kravets. The three of them looked subtlet at the mentioned Captain. Kravets positively hated him ever since his unit had been attached the II MEF, most other Ukrainians were the same but they rarely matched Kravets' hatred.

Sutherland told them to gather what they needed as Boyko wanted to leave within the hour. Him and Williams stated the obvious need, ammo. "I can't do much there, see if anyone will give you a mag or two," Sutherland replied. Williams immediately recommended he ask around Surtherland's platoon while Williams asked around the other bits of Delta platoon. He unenthusiastically accepted only due to the fact he knew Sutherland's squad leaders better than Williams.

**Noon, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Rescue Force, Staff Sergeant Anton Fedorov**

"Here, on me," he offered the semi-melted candy to the marine. His subordinate took it without hesitation. Despite the fact they had dug the trench to cut off the destroyed gate it was still a point of entry. He was doing his rounds making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. The poor souls at the destroyed gate looked ready to shoot themselves out of sheer boredom. There wasn't even the odd Taliban fighter taking pot shots to liven things up.

One of the marines sharpened up and pointed, "Heads up sir." He looked to where the man was pointing. In the tree line was a mountain of man observing them. Either the man knew he couldn't hide or did so poorly as he stuck out. "I'll give him a warning shot," he said as he chambered the rifle. Despite his size the man wasn't dressed liked the bandits. He didn't want to kill a curious villager but they needed to know to stay away.

Sutherland leaned against the defilade of dirt from the trench and took aim. Their guest could see that he saw him, and Sutherland made it abundantly clear just to be safe. He squeezed the trigger and put a round in the tree to the man's left. "Beefcake has some balls," one of his men remarked as the man barely responded to the shot.

Sutherland didn't take his eye out of the scope as he spoke, "He'll scramble like the Taliban if we roll something bigger out, go get a PK off one of Kravet's squads." He heard one of the men shuffle through the broken gate to get a the requested item. The other marine took up position next to him, "I heard Kosh doesn't like Fedorov cuz he's part Ruskie, that true sir?"

"Yeah, fucking Ukrainians don't like Fedorov," he said. The marine nodded and then shrugged, "Can't blame them but man is it ridiculous."

"Fuckin blame em if they wanna commit to petty bullshit in this situation," he said as he jerked his head torwards the villager, "put two right in front. See if he'll fuck off when the fragments hit him." Dirt exploded up torwards the man and he finally moved, standing up fully and walking away.

Sutherland lost sight of the man but at least he had left. His marine and one of Kravets' machinegunners slipped through the gate just a few seconds later. The Ukrainian looked relieved he hadn't had to use his weapon. "Shows over, sorry to bother ya," he said. The Ukrainian looked between the three Americans and shrugged before walking off. He told his men to take up their posts again and radio him if the man showed up again.

Sutherland slipped through the gate to be greeted by Kravets with a squad of his, "What's the issue?" He told the group what happened. "Hmmph, we aren't shooting innocents," Kravets said. If it wasn't an insult he would've rolled his eyes at Kravets obvious words. He asked Kravets to get Kosh while he got Moroz. Boyko and his force had just missed the fun by thirty minutes.

He found Moroz and a few others smoking next to a T-84, "Meeting, now." Moroz groaned and stamped out his cigarette. Moroz asked what it was about, "Some civilian was spying on us." Kosh and Kravets met Moroz and him just outside their meeting tent.

Once everyone was inside the entrance shut Kosh spoke, "Captain Kravets has informed me that we now have civilians spying on us." He confirmed to Kosh that was the case and told him of what happened. "I should mention that this guy wasn't built like a farm boy or average backwoods resident. It's possible he is a bandit or military." Moroz asked him why he didn't shoot in that case. "I didn't think much of it when I first saw him. I just didn't want to start a god damn insurgency," he replied.

Aside from Moroz's question the tent was quiet. Kosh stood with his arm'a crosses seemingly studying the table between them. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you all that bandits are to be shot. However if you see anyone more suited to farming than hold-ups just detain and question them. If they're bandits you know what to do," Kosh ordered.

**Night, North of USMC-Ukrainian Main Force, USMC-Ukrainian Recon Force, Staff Sergeant Anton Fedorov**

Fedorov got shaken awake violently alongside someone whispering quickly in his ear, "Sir get up, we got a problem!" He shot up rifle in hand nearly head butting the marine waking him. His grogginess went away quickly and he asked for details, "What's going on?" It was now that he noticed his man was shaking slightly, "I was on watch, nothing too bad but then something hung around my tree till ten minutes ago and it wasn't no fucking deer. Felt like nothing mattered in life and that we were fucked, all the bad thoughts in the back of my mind came to the front. Even dredged up shit I don't wanna remember. We gotta get the fuck outta here sir before whatever that thing was comes back."

Fedorov studied the marine a bit more, he was acting more like a junkie going through withdrawal than a highly trained marine. Aside from the shaking the marine was also twitching and looking over his shoulders, if Fedorov didn't know any better he'd say the man was having a mental breakdown.

He placed his hand on the man's shoulder in a calming gesture but it did little. Whatever happened had clearly shaken him up. "Go get the others up and then get some rest. I'll check your post," he said. A small part of him was saying the marine was just on edge, the rest of him knew what ever happened wasn't just a part of being on edge. All of the men with him had spent the last six months trying to break into Kiev or cross the Dnieper, some wildlife or darkness wouldn't break their minds. If he recalled correctly that marine had been with them since the Taliban resurgence shortly before they shipped out to Ukraine, he was well above being mentally broken by the dark.

He chambered the M27 and started creeping torwards the tree his man had been in. His NVGs weren't much use with the tree canopy so he switched to the flashlight mounted on his rifle. A feeling in his gut appeared telling him to bolt, he hadn't felt it with such intensity since a suicide bomber had rushed his checkpoint. Regardless of how intense it was he pushed forward, the tree was only twenty-five yards from his current spot. The hair on his neck stood straight and rigid like steel rods but he ignored it.

At the base of the tree he found two sets of tracks, his marine, and those of a barefoot human. "Idiot was scared by a bandit," he muttered. The barefoot tracks lead opposite of the camp then made a sharp right into an old creekbed. He counted his mags and radioed the others to let them know of what he found. One bandit was nothing but he told Sergeant Williams to make his way over just to be safe.

His flashlight illuminated the creekbed and once again his gut was telling him to run. The feeling was unbearable and had he lacked training he might've went wth it. Little doubt existed in his mind that the bandit knew he was here but he shut his light off to preserve his position. The ground under his feet started to dampen and make squelching noises causing him to slow down. In the distance he heard Boyko's Shilka's start up.

Alongside his sixth sense seemingly telling him to run was his sudden tiredness. Fedorov knew he'd slept at least five hours but he felt ready to drop dead. Idly he started to consider something other than a bandit, his general feeling spoke of a chemical or biological weapon. Unfortunately he'd left his mask back with the others, he radioed to let them know what was going on. Williams told him to pull back but he declined.

Something stepped on a twig ahead of him. "Put your hands up and approach me slowly!" he shouted the order. He flicked the flashlight back on and shouldered the rifle, his whole body froze at the sight the light revealed. Instead of a bandit or two there was a pack of what he could best describe as humanoid creatures. They more resembled the agressive wildlife, or 'Grimm', as the locals called them. Looking at them made his stomach churn and his training fly out the window, he bolted back torwards the others. He looked over his shoulder to see them slowly pursuing, a few haphazard shots didn't seem to do much.

A wail, or at least that's what it sounded like, came from behind and hit him like a train. All semblance of strength was sapped from him, he couldn't even yell out for help. He struggled up to his feet and turned back to see the creatures no more than fifteen feet away. Vaguely he thought he heard the roar of Boyko's Shilkas but it was drowned out by another wail from the lead creature. Whatever it did caused him to collapse again. Not only was his strength taken from him but he suddenly felt like this was the end.

His rifle sat next to him useless, it was somehow far too heavy to pick up. Even his pistol felt more inline with a M240 than the little P228 it was. He was going to die and it would be to some fucked up Romero knock offs. Idly he wondered where the hell Williams was as he couldn't be more than a hundred yards from the edge of clearing they settled in. His thoughts were answered when the shrieks and cries of the creatures were cut short by two Shilka's dumping all they had into the group.

Boyko's voice boomed over the following silence, "Stay down you god damn demons!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: The Devil You Don't**

**Day after rescue attempt, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"Did you read this?" Kosh asked. He nodded, "Of course, it's a contract not a pamphlet." Kosh flipped through the pages while skimming them. Personally he wasn't thrilled with it, working for a CIA equivalent screamed bad juju to him. He was sure Kosh didn't like it either. "Says here in exchange for our service they will attempt to find us a way back home," Sutherland tossed his copy onto the table with a snort. Kosh set his copy down before staring at him, "Lieutenant Kowalski what made you think we'd find this acceptable?"

He shrugged and said that he didn't think it was acceptable but they didn't have a choice. "Unless you've found a way to supply all our needs it's either Atlas or death," he said. "And what of these other nations? Vale, Mistral, and Vaccuo," Kosh pointed torwards the device he had brought, it was displaying a map of the world. Kowalski looked down at the small note book he kept on himself. It used to contain letters meant for his great-grandfather but now it was filled with everything he'd learned in Mistral. His earlier words about Atlas or death were the truth, "Vaccuo and Mistral as far as I could learn don't have the heavy industry needed for our vehicles and without those we're not much better than the bandits."

"What about Vale?" Kosh asked. He shrugged with uncertainty as Vale's industrial capabilities had proven difficult to find, "Possible but I don't know for sure. I'd assume our liaison wouldn't tell us if we asked."

"And they're willing to try and get us back to NATO?" Kravets asked. He paused for a second. None of the people he talked to had particularly cared about their predicament, at least until he mentioned NATO was waging a world war. Ambassador Stahl had specifically edited their contracts to include Atlas aiding them in their return to NATO forces. Personally he knew NATO wouldn't give a damn if a few Marines and Ukrainians that supposedly died suddenly reappeared but these people didn't need to know that.

Kosh asked him if he thought Vale would be a preferable alternative. "Sir just keep in mind anywhere we go will end with a bad deal for us, we're playing with a pair of twos against people with royal flushes," Moroz snapped back that they all knew their predicament. Kosh told Moroz to calm down in response. The room grew silent, no one had yet to mention it but they all knew signing these papers also meant turning their backs on their countries. He'd been personally trying to justify it as doing what had to be done in order to survive but it didn't help much. None of them particularly enjoyed the thought of committing treason.

Sutherland coughed and jerked his head torwards the tent entrance, "So, uhh, the fucks the deal with our liaison's attitude? I thought uniform inspections in basic were bad but Jesus Christ she could spot an improperly shined shoe ten klicks away."

"She ain't much of a talker so your guess is as good as mine," he said. His attempts to find anything on their liaison was even more a futile effort than finding Vale's military industrial capacity. He knew more about her family and their company than her and explained so to the group. Sutherland snorted, "So she's some stuck up rich kid that's pissed off she got forced into military service?" He shook his head, "Atlas doesn't have mandatory service. There's something else going on there but eh, not our business."

"Get her in here Kowalski," Kosh ordered, "we will not do anything until we know for sure if Atlas is the only way to source supplies." Moroz interjected before he could leave, "We don't have time, even if she confirms Vale can supply us how do you suggest we cross two continents and an ocean?"

He ducked out of the tent before Kosh responded, Moroz had a point but Kosh was deadset on looking at every possible opportunity. It was hard to decide whether he agreed with Kosh or not, he didn't want to sign that paper unless forced to but it was increasingly looking like they had no choice. They might as well bite the bullet and get it over with. One of Sutherland's men drew his attention, "Lieutenant Kowalski the rescue party has returned!"

"Already?" he'd been breiefed on events while he was gone. Kosh has said the rescue party wouldn't be back for two days. Sutherland's man, a Sergeant, explained, "We're surprised as well but, uh, something's not right with them. You need to see it for yourself sir." The Sergeant pointed him torwards the gate and went to get the rest of the officers.

Boyko's Shilkas were scratched to hell, in some places the scratches ran deep enough to puncture the rather thin steel armor. Huddled around the front of Boyko's vehicle was what he guessed were the survivors. Boyko's crews and a few of the infantry including Fedorov, each and every one of the survivors looked dead tired and scared. Some held the infamous thousand yard stare even.

Once Fedorov noticed him standing before him he latched onto him and started to beg to never be sent out again. "Christ man calm down and tell me what happened," Fedorov was unnerving him, whatever happened was a step above wildlife or bandits. His second-in-command was usually unaffected by even the most heinous acts.

"Those fucking creatures sir. What's the name the villagers gave? Grimm? Yeah, Grimm. They weren't fucking kidding, those damn things can sense your fear and use it to hunt. One of my men woke me up shaking in his fucking boots, he was with us in Afghanistan when the resurgence hit so he wasn't green," Fedorov looked as bough he suddenly remembered something he didn't want to. Whatever it was he quickly suppressed and continued talking.

"Anyways, he starts telling me how something sat under his tree and made him feel like shit and dredged up all the bad memories in his life," Fedorov broke down again muttering incomprehensible words to himself. Kowalski found himself unnerved and clueless. His second-in-command has been reduced to a shadow of himself in a single night.

He looked for Boyko and found Kosh in a similar situation just without Boyko wrapped around his waist while clamoring to not be sent out again. One of his corpsemen pried Fedorov off him and hit him with something while tending to the many minor wounds Fedorov sported. He took the chance to see if Boyko was more coherent.

Boyko was in far better shape than Fedorov. The Shilka Commander was using a canteen to clean his face while he spoke. Unlike Fedorov it appeared Boyko wasn't entirely traumatized by the night though Kosh was having to coax the nights event out of him, "I don't know what they were Major but they definitely belonged with the rest of the demons. They looked a lot like us, just, turned into them I guess. Their god damn wailing," Boyko shuddered and said he didn't want to talk about it. "Thank god being battened down seemed to provide some relief."

Kosh asked what happened after the initial encounter. Boyko shook his head and asked for more water, . Kosh withheld it until he spoke, "Must've taken most of the casualties about thirty minutes after. We were all clustered together, Shilkas watching north and south while the infantry watched east and west."

"I don't know who got taken first, truthfully I was dozing off. Next thing I know we got maybe fifty of those wolf looking ones forming a ring, snarling and chomping at us. One big one, the alpha I'd guess, he came barreling at us and snatched up two guys and took off," Boyko suddenly shivered and shook his head. He snatched the canteen from Kosh and downed it. He muttered something in Ukrainian only for Kosh to bark something at him. Their words made him realize their interpreters had been in a different crossing group back on Earth.

Boyko continued but he wasn't really listening, he'd heard enough. He left the Ukrainians to their own and grabbed Sutherland. "Man we gotta get outta here," he quietly said. Sutherland looked at him shocked, "What about our men? You just gonna abandon them Joe?"

"No, I'm gonna have Vance and Cole get them out. Just need to convince our new friend to loan her tilt-jet," he added a joke about hourly rates but Sutherland didn't laugh. Sutherland was quiet until they returned to the meeting tent, "Kosh doesn't want to sign it, he thinks this Vale place isn't as shady." He replied quickly, "The Major also believes Staff Sergeant Fedorov is eagerly waiting for the chance to fly the Russian tricolor and kill us all."

He heard Sutherland mutter out an agreement while he searched his plate carrier for a pen. If there was one thing he'd tell his younger self it was to practice his signature, doctor handwriting was more legible. Sutherland watched him sign the contract and sighed, "Just be sure we get our men back before anything."

"I wouldn't sign if I didn't intend on saving them," he held his hand out. "Give me your copy and I'll hand it off." Sutherland looked over the papers before folding and handing them off. His compatriot called after him after a second, "If they don't hold up their end of the deal I'll blame you."

Outside the tent he found one of his corpsemen pacing nervously. Once he saw his CO he stood straight, "Sir, I have news regarding Fedorov." He motioned for the man to follow him. "I gave him a quick and dirty evaluation. It's by no means conclusive but things aren't looking good sir," the corpseman jumped into the finer details after a second. Fedorov was fine physically, mentally however the corpseman told him it was likely he was broken. Whatever had happened the night before had completely and utterly traumatized him.

"Anything we can do for him here?" he asked. His man shrugged, "Keep him away from combat but he'll need to be committed to somewhere that can provide serious help. Even then it's a crapshoot how he'll turnout."

"Damn, keep me updated till we leave," the corpseman nodded before leaving. His eyes shifted torwards the gate, Kosh was still talking with Boyko. Kravets and Moroz were inspecting the vehicles and the damage they sustained in particular. He hoped Boyko's words would convince Kosh they couldn't stay here.

He stopped before the tilt-jet their liaison was using as shelter. If he'd known two days ago that they were going to fly back he'd have said sleep could wait, it might've saved his men.

The two robot soldiers guarding the ramp didn't acknowledge him. Though he wouldn't admit it to the Atlesians, the fully autonomous war machines gave him the creeps. Their black paint and red lights didn't help with the feeling. Vance and Cole had mercilessly ripped into him about watching too many Terminator films after asking if they got the same vibes.

"Hey Operative! Ya in there?" he shouted, "Sutherland and I signed up, just need one thing before I hand them over." He looked over his shoulder, Kosh was still on the other end of the camp with Boyko. The hydraulic whirl of the tilt-jet's doors was joined by their liaison's voice, "There is no negotiating the contract Lieutenant, you and Ambassador Stahl finalized it yesterday."

"No, no, no, nothing to do with the contract. It's a, uh," he struggled for a second before finding his words. "Let's just say you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours at a later date." Winter seemed in amused by his choice of words. "Look, a few of our men got captured a few days ago and our rescue party got hit hard by the critters running around. We aren't leaving them behind." He jerked his thumb behind him at the mention of the rescue party.

Winter observed the rescue party for a moment. "Atlas has a standing policy of no man left behind. If Major Kosh signs then I'll aid in your rescue." He internally groaned. Those men were as good as dead if he had to wait on Kosh.

"All three are Americans, this deal is between you, Sutherland and me only," he lied through his teeth. He knew that only one man was American but Kosh was taking his sweet time. The men in captivity were on a timer and there was no telling if it already expired. When the heat came he'd gladly take it in exchange for three less crosses.

**1:45AM, North of USMC-Ukrainian Force, USMC-Ukrainian Prisoners, Private Logan Mackenzie**

"American! Hey! Wake up! Dmitry is coughing!" Logan shot up at the last whisper. The fingers on his right hand were on fire but he ignored them. It was hard to see in the dark but the sound of Dmitry coughing his guts out was easily heard. He scrambled over to the other end of the cage and rolled the heavily injured man onto his back. There wasn't much that could be done, the bandits had stripped them down to just their boots and pants. They'd even taken the belts.

"I can't do much for him man," he said dejectedly. Dmitry was clearly suffering from internal wounds. Each cough from the man brought about blood, the best they could do was keep him on his side to prevent a grisly death. Though he wondered what was worse, choking on your own blood or bleeding out. The other Ukrainian, Taras helped him prop Dmitry on his side while the two of them sat next to the wounded man.

Taras asked him if he thought they'd be saved. He shrugged and checked his right hand, all the fingers were thoroughly broken. They'd yanked out two of Taras teeth, pummeled Dmitry, and broke his fingers for refusing to talk so far. Their only salvation was the sun setting, it meant they got eight or so hours away from the interrogations, all the bandits ever asked about was their camp. He'd told the bandits to piss off and followed the basics of interrogation training. Taras and him were still trying to figure out what Dmitry did to warrant the walloping he'd received.

Dmitry broke into a fit of violent coughs that covered the a portion of the cage's floor. He plugged his ears with his fingers every time the man coughed. "Taras..." Dmitry mouthed the rest before coughing again. Logan couldn't decipher anything Dmitry said as he spoke rapidly in Ukrainian to Taras. The two went back and forth even as Dmitry's coughing worsened.

Once they were done Taras turned to him, "He doesn't want to die here." He snorted, "I don't blame him though I don't think we're getting out of here anytime soon."

"Major Kosh has to be working on a plan. You Americans don't leave men behind and neither do we," Taras sounded like he was trying to convince himself. They all knew the resources required to successfully rescue them simply didn't exist with the main force. He told Taras though that he was sure they were working on something and told him to get some sleep. "If it looks like Dmitry is on his way out I'll get you up," he said. Taras curled up in a corner and promptly fell asleep.

Logan wasn't sure how long he sat awake for. Dmitry's coughing continually got worse throughout the night. A voice called out from his right, "Someone shut that prisoner up! I'm trying to sleep!" Footsteps came from his right, whoever hey belonged to was stomping torwards them. A shadow appeared at the far end of the cage and addressed him, "You sitting up, what's the matter with him?"

He couldn't get a good look at the bandit in the dark. Their voice made him certain it wasn't the one that broke his fingers. He told the bandit what the issue was, "He's bleeding internally from you dumbasses beating the snot out of him." The bandit asked if he could stop it, "I'm a rifleman not a medic. You killed the ones that could help."

"What about your friend here," the bandit motioned torwards Taras. He shook his head, "No one here is a medic, you dipshits nabbed three low ranking riflemen and killed all the guys in the know." The bandit's head visibly shifted between him, Dmitry, and Taras. His new friend walked around to him after a second and smacked Logan's head. "Get him to quiet down before he wakes Vernal up," the bandit said harshly before stalking off.

He muttered to himself, "Buddy, Chesty fucking Puller could tell me to quiet him down and I wouldn't be able to do so." He laid down on his side, he told Taras he'd keep watch but he was far too sleep deprived. Dmitry wasn't going to stick around long anyways and when he did pass they'd know.

Taras shook him awake some time later, the sky was still dark. Taras pointed to the motionless form infront of him, "Dmitry's gone, he rolled onto his back and choked." He offered an apology for falling asleep but Taras told him not to worry.

Logan looked to his right farther into the camp, there wasn't a sound coming from it. He looked back to Taras, "You know anything about him?" Taras shook his head, "Not much, didn't meet Dmitry till we stormed Donetsk about seven months ago and he was in a different squad till two weeks ago. I know his family fled to Germany when it all started but he came back when he turned eighteen two years ago."

"Poor bastard, died in an unknown place far from his family and home country. Shit, at least if I died in Ukraine I'd get to go home one last time," he said. Taras silently agreed with him. Taras reaches over torwards Dmitry and yanked the deceased's tags off. He then reached through the cage and stuck them under the floor of it. "Don't forget those if we get rescued," Taras said.

They both started to doze off again when they both snapped awake for seemingly no reason. After a few seconds he could hear a distant roar, one that distinctly belonged to jet engines. The noise slow got louder for a minute before it seemed to get quieter then went away completely. "Damn, I thought Kowalski found us some help," he said bitterly. Taras' shoulders slumped and he went back to dozing off. Long joined him, there wasn't much else to do.

He struggled to sleep, the jet engines bothered him more than they should've. They had sounded like they were coming right torwards and their sound reminded him of an F-15. He wasn't sure if the USAF had showed up or if the rest of the force had found allies with jet aircraft. Taras on the other hand seemed to let the idea of rescue stay that, an idea. The Ukrainian was sawing logs on the cage floor.

Logan was wasn't sure how long he laid there trying to sleep but at some point he heard a twig snap outside the wall they were placed against. He thought he heard whispers on the other side but dismissed it as sleep deprivation. He heard a whisper from the other side a few minutes later, "Pull!" His tired mind scrambled for the response word, "Bang!"

"Who's there?" the voice replied. "Private Logan Mackenzie, Third Squad, Delta Platoon," he responded. He heard more voices conversing on the other side. Taras shifted and grumbled out a question before hearing the voices. "Alright Private," the voice said, "is there anyway we can blow the wall down near you?"

Logan directed them to his right and their left, no tents or structures were placed against the wall there. "I'd advise you get down in there," another voice said, it was deeper than the last. He noticed Taras grab Dmitry's tags from their hiding place. Him and Taras moved the other side and laid flat.

A loud shout came from the other side, "Fire in the hole!" The shout was followed by an explosion that rocked his bones as he was peppered with dirt and wood. A cacophony of shouting followed the explosion.

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Cole get a perimeter set! We'll get them out!"

"Smoke them out of the tents!"

A marine with bolt cutters in hand ran up to their cage and cut the lock. The marine asked him how they were, "Taras and I are fine, mostly. Dmitry there is dead, bastards beat him up and he bled internally." Their rescuer nodded and moved to pick the dead man up.

Another marine, a corpsemen checked them over and pointed torwards the hole in the wall, "Get out there and keep down! Our ride will be here shortly!" Taras and him darted our of the cage, the marine carrying Dmitry not far behind. The marines fired into anything that moved, a few raked the various tents with fire.

Outside the wall they found Sergeant Vance on a radio, "Swordfish, Mako has secured target. Requesting extraction on the eastern wall, be advised we have minimal contact with the enemy so far." A woman on the other end confirmed the request. Distantly he could hear the jet engines from before spool up.

One of Cole's men hefting a SMAW ran by. A few seconds later he heard a shout that preceded an explosion, "Clear backblast!" More shouting came from inside now paired with bullets shooting past them, their captors had woken up. He looked over torwards Vance who was listening intently on the radio. Logan vaguely made out the voice on the other side before Vance started shouting, "First squad fall back to the breach while second squad provides covering fire!"

On the other side of the camp above the tree line a white tilt-jet appeared bleeding speed as it transitioned for a landing. Someone on the other side shouted that their ride was here. Cole's squad filtered out of the breach while keeping up the tempo of rifle fire.

The corpseman from before appeared again and dragged both him and Taras up behind cover. "When that bird lands you're gonna run like hell while we cover! Don't worry about anything but getting on that bird," the corpseman instructed over the noise of engines. Him and Taras watched the tilt-jet closely as it came close to the ground, the doors on its sides already open. When the tires touched the ground both him and Taras bolted for it.

Behind them he could barely make out Vance ordering the rest to collapse in on the tilt-jet. He tuned out the fighting and leapt into the tilt-jet before turning around and helping Taras and then the man with Dmitry in. A few moments later the rescue force piled in one by one, Vance was the second to last in.

He didn't bat an eye before leaning torwards him and Taras and whispering, "If our pilot up front asks about your unit you say Marines. Understood?" They both nodded though throughly confused. Vance looked forward forward stje cockpit then leaned back in, "The only reason we got you out was because Kowalski lied about your nationality. Our new ally here is a stickler for the rules, wouldn't provide aid to us unless we we're proven allies to Atlas." Vance explained to them the situation further but he tuned it out. The explanation was meant for Taras mainly.

He stared at the aircraft's side door until a corpseman shoved an MRE into his lap, "Eat now, I don't think you'll have much time when we get back to camp. Word before we left was Kosh was signing the contract come morning."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Evaluation**

**11:00AM, West of Mistral, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

Someone was standing over him in his half-awake state. In the back of his mind he wondered if it was Kosh about to rip him a new one. He started to stir when the person who he identified as Operative Winter spoke, "Lieutenant we need to speak."

He propped himself up and looked at his watch, five in the morning. "Did you rescue the men?" he asked. "Your men did well, the issue comes with the prisoners. You lied to me about them being your men," Winter replied.

"Yeah and?" They weren't getting left behind anyways so I saved us some time and I owe you one now," he stated. Kowalski sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the cot and into his boots. If there was one thing he was glad they'd get in Atlas it was modern plumbing, they were all starting to smell. He looked up from his boots expecting Winter to push the issue further. Instead he found her mulling over his words before agreeing, "I suppose you're right."

He thought that was the end and went to grab his plate carrier behind her but she stopped him, "As long as that's the only time this issue comes up." He nodded, lying was rarely beneficial in their line of work and he made it known, "That was a one time thing Operative." She nodded, "Noted."

Winter left him to finish his morning ritual. His rifle sat next to his plate carrier, only two full reserve mags remained. Boyko has thought convinced Kosh but there was still a voice in his head saying Kosh would wait. The Ukrainians had a fair amount of ammo but him and Sutherland were effectively emergency reserves for now. He pushed this thoughts aside and grabbed his gear before leaving his tent.

His and Sutherland's men were packing up what little they had, they'd been informed they were leaving soon. The Ukrainians were either doing the same or standing guard.

His new Staff Sergeant, Vance, was waiting outside his tent, "Operative Winter said to join the others in the main tent sir. Said something about a debriefing." Vance handed him a mug filled with Coffee.

"How'd the rescue go?" he asked. Vance in return gave a shrug, "Went great but one of the Ukrainians was dead when we arrived. Broken rib from a beating did him in."

The Staff Sergeant gave him a rundown of the rescue. Kowalski expressed his opinion at the mention of Dmitry again, "Rough way to go, wish we could give those bandits proper thrashing for the trouble they've caused." Vance simply nodded in agreement.

They stopped and grabbed another cup of coffee from some Ukrainians. Vance started talking once they were alone, "So what can we expect with this Atlas military? I know you did some digging."

"It's what'd you expect from a country that can't really expand so they build tall," he explained. Vance and him slowed down a little, they had time to chit chat before the meeting. "Standing army of forty thousand augmented by sixty-thousand robots and air forces, deep human reserves surpassingly," he stated.

"So we could take em?" Vance asked then clarified he meant the US overall. He snorted, "Russia in the late nineties could probably take them. They have one primary city where most of their forces and industries are located, Pearl would be a flick to the head in comparison."

They came to a stop outside the meeting tent, Kosh and his second in command passed them. They opted to finish their drinks before heading in. Vance downed his one go before asking another question, "What about those Faunus folk we've seen? What's their deal?"

He shrugged and said he didn't look into them when they had internet access. "I guess Mistral and Atlas are pretty bad places for them from what Cole heard in that bar. Not quite sundown town bad but still pretty bad in some areas," he said. Vance's face turned sour at his words, "And we're really going to protect a place like that?"

He shook his head while he finished his coffee off, "I don't like it either and frankly I don't want to serve them based on that alone but they're the only ones who have a chance to get us home from what I read." He could see Vance's shoulders relax at his words, "Good to know sir." He gave Vance a light punch to shoulder, "Man you know I'm not like that, never have been." Vance sheepishly replied that he knew that.

**Two Days Later, Noon, Atlas, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

The man across from him could not try any harder to look like an intelligence agent. He was cleanly dressed in a sharp suit with a leather bound notepad in one hand a pen tucked into his breast pocket. Kowalski was the opposite with his combat fatigues that had just been washed the night before after two weeks of wearing them day in and day out.

His interviewer asked him his name, rank, country of origin and branch of service which he supplied. After that the interviewer listed off several facts gained from the other men, "You've all been together for the last wo months as per Captain Kravets. Lieutenant Sutherland States you two have been good friends since boot camp. Finally we have Major Kosh who stated your two units were put together after a failure to secure the eastern half of a city known as Kiev. Is this all correct?" He nodded and verbally confirmed that it indeed was.

"Let's move to personal history," the man opened his notebook and flipped a few pages in. He slid it over and underlined a section while reading it off, "Richard Sutherland off handledly remarked that both of you have been in the service of your nations amphibious infantry branch since you were eighteen." The interviewer pushed his glasses up as Kowalski expanded on Sutherland's comment.

The routine continued for several moments, his interviewer asked questions regarding a comment from the others and he explained what they meant. After the sixth or seventh question the subject changed, "Family history, anything of note there? I don't need to know whose alive considering your situation but I do need medical issues." He told the man there was nothing to worry about and the response was a simple nod and scribbling.

"Your comrades spoke a lot about a war with this Russia kingdom," the interviewer looked up, "We've gathered a lot from the Ukrainians aswell though so we won't discuss it with you." The two unfamiliar words came out slowly as they were read. His interviewer slowly sounded out "Afghanistan" then looked to him for confirmation and he nodded at the half-decent pronunciation. "What can you tell me?" the interviewer asked. "Richard Sutherland was not so forthcoming about it, he only said a lot of his brothers died there."

"You ever heard of the term quagmire?" he asked and the interviewer nodded. "That's what Afghanistan was, or is I guess. I was still being breastfed when America invaded it, eighteen years later I got sent over to fight in the same war."

He waited for the interviewer to finish writing before continuing, "It was a low intensity style of warfare, mainly counter-insurgency." He stopped and reached over for a glass of water and quickly downed it before continuing, "Long stretches of boredom punctuated by short spurts of action unlike Ukraine. Sometimes we'd go weeks without much trouble then there's a string of suicide bombers, IEDs, and mortar attacks in a matter of days."

The interviewer stopped writing when he mentioned the methods of attack. He fixed his glasses before speaking in disbelief, "Suicide Bombers?" He nodded, "It's exactly what you think it is. The ones in Afghanistan were of the religious extremist variety, not desperation tactics or otherwise." Quick and precise writing followed his confirmation. From what he could see of the notebook the interviewer wrote down "Suicide Bombers" with several exclamation points and a note to further investigate.

The interviewer sighed, checked his watch, and turned to the next blank page, "Let's make this quick, I believe your Staff Sergeant Charles Vance is next." He was bombarded with questions regarding other elements of his time in Afghanistan. Where he could answer he did and when he couldn't or wouldn't he told the interviewer as such who just nodded and wrote something down.

The interviewer looked at his watch and marked the page he stopped at, "That's enough for me Lieutenant. Return to your quarters and wait until we have your evaluation ready." A guard opened the door and beckoned him over after a second. It was a short jaunt to the shared quarters contains him and the other officers, the enlisted had been tucked away elsewhere. Frankly it irritated him, he had no idea if his men were safe or not but the Atlesians ignored his complaints.

Boyko, Moroz, and Sutherland been stuffed into the room with him, Kravets and Kosh were elsewhere. He sat down in his coat and removed his boots. The room was quiet for several minutes as the others tended to their own issues. Finally Sutherland spoke from behind his book, "How you guys think Major Kosh is doing?"

Boyko replied, "They're running his guys through a test tomorrow. My guards were whispering about all the people coming out to watch." Moroz spoke up after Boyko, "I saw Kosh coming out of his interview, he wasn't happy." A tingling sensation ran up his spine. He could only imagine what Kosh would do to him because of something the Atlesians did.

Moroz commented that Kosh's crew would need stiff drinks after tommorow. "Illya gets demanding when angry, ran us ragged outside of Donetsk during one incident," he added on.

Sutherland looked up from the book, "You guys notice how this place is a textbook dystopia? Rich living on a floating island above all the poor people is a classic." They all nodded, Moroz spoke, "Kowalski did you read into this place at all? Their technology is advanced and that's about the only good thing I've seen so far."

"I did but I'd rather deal with this than be starving back in that damn camp," he defended himself. Moroz raised his hands and conceded to the point.

**One Day Later, Atlas, T-84 Oplot-M 'Svitlana', Major Illya Kosh**

Kosh pulled the hatch shut and locked it. His driver, Boris was going through the final checks as was Fedor. he was still thinking about the interview yesterday, to him it was an interrogation. He barked out orders trying to take his mind off things, "Boris start us up, Fedor load the main gun, darts till I say otherwise."

The autoloader worked effortlessly between them, delivering the round and its charge in the usual time. The KBA-3's breach closed shut and was followed by Fedor yelling, "Gun is ready sir!" He personally hoped the idiots watching would see the dart destroy the first target and call off the test. Their live ammo was a precious resource and it was being wasted on a pointless test, the three black rings on Svitlana's barrel meant nothing here apparently.

"These, Atlesians," he spat the word out. Fedor's eyes flicked torwards him with concern before returning to his station. He continued, "They want to see what we're made of. I chose us because I have absolute faith we will make Ukraine proud." Once again he saw Fedor's eyes flicker over to him and linger for a time. His gunner wasn't by any means dumb.

A dull sounding man comeover the radio, "Major Kosh your first objective is to clear the course while eliminating as many targets as possible. Your communication will be monitored in addition to your performance." He confirmed the order and told Boris to begin moving.

The opposed-piston diesel engine quickly brought the tank up to speed. Boris effortlessly drove the tank through the first part of the course, the minor obstacles meant to try and hinder Boris' ability to control the tank did nothing. Kosh honestly believed the man had a special connection to the tank. Others would attribute their success to possession of one of the rare T-84 Oplot-Ms but he was firm in his beliefs.

They passed a sign indicating they were entering the next segment, gunnery skills. He told Fedor to wake up and start watching closely. The first target nearly escaped his sight, "Target! Two o'clock, range is one point two. Fire when ready." Fedor quickly found the target and the FCS did everything but pull the trigger for him, "Target is down." He looked and sure enough the steel plate vaguely shaped like an elephant was down.

He looked down at his watch, they were on track to finish well below the expected timer. It wasn't good enough for him, he wanted to completely stun the people watching, "Faster Boris! We need to show these idiots!" Boris complied but Fedor finally stopped biting his lip, "Sir any faster will affect our accuracy!" Boris for his part followed the previous order instead of voicing his own concerns if he had any.

He called out another target before replying to Fedor, "If we can tag T-90s at two kilometers while moving then we can take this course, push the old lady to her limit." His gunner looked as though he wanted to mention that specific event was a one time thing but kept quiet. Their tank was cruising along smoothly though he could see Fedor was struggling with the increased speed. Still he was hitting targets on the first or second shot so Kosh saw no reason to slow down.

Boris took them quickly around a tight turn, perhaps a little too quick but the tank stayed up right. Once out of the turn he looked through his sight, "Fedor! Two targets, one friendly at bearing three-eight-one and one enemy at bearing zero-zero-two. Both at nine hundred and closing!" The barrel passed over the green target and came to a rest on the black one, Svitlana shook after a second and Fedor called out a hit.

Boris take more turns as they continued on the course and rarely did he feel the need to slow. Fedor and him were slammed into the sides of the turret each time. "Sir for the love of god let him slow down my shoulder hurts!" Fedor begged after a particularly tight turn. He could only shake his head and call out more targets. His watch told him this was quite possibly the best they'd ever done on any kind of course.

Boris called up from his position, "Turn ahead, we'll be moving direct east Major. Looks very bumpy as well." "Just keep us moving Boris," he ordered without looking away from his periscope. "Fedor more targets!"

"Fedor new target at twelve o' clock. Distance is two point four and closing," he shouted. The rangefinder ticked down to two kilometers yet Fedor had yet to fire. He yelled to the gunner, "God damn it Fedor, fire!" The dart shot out a split second later in response. At first he assumed it would miss, Fedor had shot too high it looked. The entire crew let out a breath when it impacted just below the top edge and knocked the target down.

A few more targets but it appeared the we're done for the most part. Boris kept his weight on the gas till they passed the clearly marked exit point for the range. He looked down at the watch, twenty-four minutes and eighteen seconds. Three under the most optimistic time he'd seen for them. Boris had surely shaved the most time off with his driving, once told to go he hadn't let up until they were done.

He read the time out loud and congratulated his crew. Fedor reacted first, "My god that's fast. What the hell got into your sir?"

"Those ignorant bastards questioned our competence when they heard we lost half our country to the fucking Russians before we dug in and halted them," he said, rembeeing the interview just reangered him. "I'd like to see them try to stop a Russian invasion. I bet the bastards would crumble where we didn't." Boris surprisingly voiced his agreement, "They would indeed Major."

"Major Kosh your performance was exemplary," the full man from before said over the radio. Kosh quickly accepted the praise then shut his radio off, "Bastards the lot of them, should've never listened to the American."

The tank sat quiet bar the muffled noise from the engine. Fedor spoke after a moment, "Sir, Lieutenant Kowalski has his own issues with Atlas if you haven't heard. I doubt he's enjoying it anymore than us." He sighed, "That's not the point Fedor, did they question the Americans' competence after learning their fighting a war for longer than some of those fighting it have been alive? No."

"I didn't spend my entire adult life fighting for a united Ukraine only to die in one world and be questioned about my competency by some intelligent cunt in a suit in another," before Fedor could formulate a counter he said that was enough.

**Two Days Later, Atlas, Delta Platoon, Sergeant Indy Cole**

He watched Lieutenant Kowalski draw on a small whiteboard, "First and Second will go in here on the north wall as the main force while Third hits their West and Fourth hits the South. Package is here in the eastern half of the compound." Kowalski looked up at him and the other squad leaders plus Vance, "Questions?"

Sergeant Diaz, Vance's replacement raised his hand along with his weapon, "Why are we using these bulky paintball guns? Don't they got something better with their tech?" Kowalski quickly replied, "It's the still military Diaz, same shit, different flag." The group broke into chuckles at the depressing truth.

"Vance has overall command, I'll be watching with the others despite my protests," Kowalski let his feelings on the matter flow freely. Cole didn't like it either, Kowalski was good a shot and commander. Every marine was a good shot but Vance was still new to being a Staff Sergeant and Fedorov was under going a full psychological evaluation and observation.

Kowalski left them after explaining a few more things to Vance. Cole checked his rifle once more, the paintball gun was like any old one found on Earth. Diaz slid up next to him, "Hey, your gut telling you anything?" He looked at his fellow marine, "Yeah, you're gonna being making a Picasso while I do all the work." He cackled at his own joke and soon was joined by the others who heard it. Diaz uttered a "Go to hell" then joined in as well

Vance walked up to them as the laughing died down, "Let's roll fellas." Sergeants Diaz and Edwards split off from the group torwards their squads. Vance, Jeong and him made their way to First and Second Squads. The men were waiting behind a fallen tree that made Californian redwoods look small.

"All teams check in," Vance spoke into the radio and repliez came back quick. Diaz came through after a second, "First and Second wait until we throughly have their attention." Shouting though faint came from Diaz's and Edwards' positions. What windows existed on the north side of the compound allowed him to see a few shadows move.

The minutes passed quickly before Vance spoke, "Alright lets go guys." Cole lead his squad down torwards an entry close to the north-eastern corner. The usual pointman for his squad, a man hailing from Harlem, took point and waited for the others to stack up. He breached the room at Cole's hand signal and was followed by the rest of First Squad.

"Left clear!" "

"Right clear!"

"Room clear!"

"Contact! End of the hallway!" Paintballs splattered around the doorway and the wall opposite as his squad settled into cover. The pointman shoves his rifle around the corner and loosed rounds down torwards the Atlesians playing Opfor.

More paintballs came in response and he could hear the Atlesians shouting out their status, he heard three distinct men shout they were reloading, "Go! They're reloading!" Three marines rushed through the door at his words and took up cover where they could. The Atlesians were slow and the responding volley of paintballs came late, still they got some hits, "I'm hit in the arm!" Another marine yelled in response, "You've watched Rambo, Yeah?"

The Atlesians at the end of the hall screamed out in pain and shouted they were hit. He took the chance to look over his cover and see paintballs flying from the left of the hall theirs intersected. Second squad with Jeong and Vance rounded the corner a few seconds later.

His squad pushed down the hall after Jeong called out it was clear. "Encountered two fireteams and these guys here, you?" Jeong asked. Cole shook his head, "Didn't see much aside from those dicks shooting at us."

Edwards' voice called out over the radio, "Third squad is breaching the compound, facing minimal resistance so far." Vance, Jeong and him shared confused looks before Vance whipped his radio out, "Fourth squad give me a sitrep."

A voice definitely not belonging to Diaz replied, "Fourth Squad, Corporal Johnson speaking. We're taking heavyfire from two, possibly three squads. Sergeant Diaz is down alongside several others."

Cole looked at the other two to see them doing the same mental math as him. They were facing five squads, Second squad had eliminated two fireteams plus the one pinning his men down. If Fourth was facing three squads there was only one unaccounted and it was at half strength.

"Second and Third will hit the guys attacking Fourth. Cole you go find the unaccounted for squad and their package, put them down," Vance ordered. "What about the wounded?" he asked. None of his or Jeong's men had been "killed" but a few had paintballs to the extremities.

Vance looked at the three wounded for a second, "Send them outside, this won't take much longer." Jeong and him nodded, the wounded walked or limped their way out depending on where the paintballs hit. Vance and a man from each squad went with them.

"First squad get ready to move," he called out. Jeong and his squad were gone before he was done talking. He lead his squad to the eastern portion of the building quickly clearing room after room. Eventually they came to a set of stairs leading downwards, one of his men edged closer then shuffled back and whispered, "Someone's down there, I can hear them."

He whispered back, "We haven't found the package, probably the best place to hide it is down there." In the back of his mind he recalled the time they found a minor Taliban cave, no more than four or five rooms carved from the rock. Copious grenades had been used in clearing it out before a forced collapsed with demolition charges. No such option existed now yet going down would mean certain defeat.

He noticed the cameras in the hall all turning to his squad as they set up around the stairs, the package was definitely down there. The compound was mostly plywood but he wasn't sure how the observers would respond to him cutting a hole in the floor, not that he or his squad had the tools to easily do so. "Corporal," he called out the closest marine. "Take two men and find us something we can use as a shield." The Corporal nodded.

They waited patiently for the three to return. Corporal Johnson's voice came through his radio, "Third and Second squad's are engaged with the enemy. Fourth is disengaging to regroup with Vance." He turned his radio down a little, him and the marine that's heard the Atlesians in the basement sat at the top of the stairs listening. Occasionally he could hear their boots shift in the concrete foundation. "Two of them are right next to each other, the others are too quiet," his marine said after a few moments.

Footsteps, heavy ones, drew his attention. One of his men shouted as they got closer, "Baseball!" The response came immediately, "Ruth!" The Corporal and Privates he'd sent to find something rounded the corner carrying a metal folding table. "You've got to be fucking with me," he said in disbelief. The Corporal shook his head and said it was the best they could find.

The marine whose hearing had somehow survived till now tapped his shoulder, he whipped out a makeup mirror, "Permission to recon the basement sir?" He nodded and watched the man sneak down the steps. The mirror didn't get more than half an inch from behind cover before the man holding it recoiled and trampled up the steps. Paintballs coated the wall opposite of him.

"Five down there, three clustered together on the left, two in the center," the marine the explained the room. The basement was small but not particularly cramped according to his man. The only cover down there was what the Atlesians were hiding behind. He stared down the stairs for a minute. They really didn't have a choice so he sighed and turned to the Corporal, "Since this is the best you could find you're going to use it."

The three marines that had found the table crouched behind it and picked it up via the legs, they all barely fit behind it. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever done," one muttered which earned a chuckle from Cole and a few others close enough to hear.

The group crept down the stairs slowly, when the table started to peak out from behind the wall it was assaulted with a multitude of colors. Despite the paintballs hitting the table the marines powered down the stairs and drove torwards the wall before settling down.

Two of his men at his order went down the stairs, the Atlesians were focused on the table and those behind it. His marines peaked from out behind the stairway wall and quickly cleaned the rooms. Swearing and complaints rose up from the basement as a result while the Corporal snatched the package, bolted up the stairs, and held the flag up to the camera.

A voice came through the cameras, "Exercise complete, red wins."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: New Gear. Who Dis?**

**One Week After Evaluations, Atlas, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"Up and at em! Stand to attention soldiers!" Kowalski jumped out of his rack and snapped a salute. It'd been a long while since he'd had to do such a thing but it was programmed into him still. The Atlesian Officer marched up and down the barracks eyeing each of his men, "Congratulations, you are the newest members of the Atlesian Special Operations Unit as of thirty minutes ago! Starting today you report to General Ironwood and your liaisons until your situation is remedied."

"From here on out you are now known as Task Force Goliath," the Officer said. He could see some of his men despite their stone cold looks liked the name. The Officer went over what was expected of them and what their mission was. Instead of trying to liberate Ukraine they were to be some more muscle for the SOU. He caught Vance's eye as the Officer went into further detail. His Staff Sergeant was already questioning it much like him.

The Officer dismissed those in the barracks bar him. The others were escorted out torwards the armory. He snapped a salute when the officer approached, "At ease, each officer in Task Force Goliath will be assigned an Atlesian officer until it is decided you have a sufficient grasp of Remnant and its people." Kowalski personally didn't want to be around long enough that they no longer needed a liasion but he didn't say that aloud. "You and your men have been assigned Staff Sergeant Gris Fleur from my unit of the SOU Security Force."

"What's he like?" He asked. "Officer material though just between you and me" The Officer looked around then leaned in, "his background will screw him."

Kowalski raised an eyebrow at the man's words, "Father is Human, mother is Faunus, Ironwood doesn't seem to care but there's others between the two who do." He nodded to the explanation. The Officer elaborated a little more, "Me? I don't give a shit, he can shoot straight and follow orders or give them so him leaving my unit kinda sucks." The Officer sounded genuinely upset he was losing this Staff Sergeant Fleur.

"I'll return him just as he is then," his tried to reassure the Officer. He got a nod from the man, "Try to just keep him alive, he's got a missus."

**Noon, Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

He really didn't like the helmet, the rest of the Atlesian standard kit wasn't much different than his bar the fact it was a armored exoskeleton with but the helmet he despised. "You sure I can't take this face plate off?" he asked. The SOU Armorer shook his head, "The face plate gives you access to full field of view infrared and thermal vision not to mention the shrapnel protection."

He really didn't like it despite the fact the interior was molded to his face. He looked over at Vance to see he was of similar mind and also in an argument with another Armorer. "Nobody is gonna trust a man whose face is hidden," he argued. The armorer picked up an Allen wrench and handed it to him, "Take it up with the SDC man, best I can do is give you a tool to take it off and leave it to your discretion."

Unlike the helmet he rather enjoyed the armor, it was a little bulkier than his plate carrier but most of his torso and arms were covered. The only real complaint he had was the lack of pouches which he relayed to the Armorer. "Yeah, that's a common complaint. Lot of guys get aftermarket pouches and put them on," the Armorer patted his own armor laying on the table. Several pouches had been stitched onto the exposed fabric. "I can give you some recommendations once we're done here," he nodded eagerly to the offer.

The Armorer walked behind him with a power cell, he heard a flap open then the previously heavy exo skeleton and armor became nearly weightless. "Power cells last about a month of heavy usage, good for twenty years so only the oldest ones are expired yet," the Armorer explained.

The helmet's hud booted up, it wasn't quite what he imagined but it did have a few tricks as he watched each element start up. Once the boot up sequence completed he turned to the Armorer, "So what can this puppy do?" He stretched his arms out, he could faintly hear the exoskeleton's motors whir. This thing wasn't the awkward, inflexible, and bulky variants he'd seen NATO special forces using.

The Armorer pointed to his legs, "The lower half of the exoskeleton can't do much beyond aid in carrying gear and increase your running speed by a little." A clipboard was handed to him, it showed running times with and without the exoskeleton. He struggled to remember his last timed mile but he was sure he could shave thirty seconds or more off it with the exoskeleton.

"The top half in the armor though?" the Armorer said somewhat excitedly. "You can throw a damn good punch, not quite like what huntsmen are capable of but it'll still crack skulls, Grimm or otherwise."

The Armorer turned around for a moment. He took the chance to remove the helmet and fiddle with the face plate. The Armorer spoke up as soon he took the first hex screw out, "I can tell you don't like the helmet but do remember it's got a lot of tech in it, enhanced hearing and vision, biometric readings of your squad, and host of other stuff." He grumbled and reinserted the screw and put it back on. When his eyes hovered over Vance for a second he was given a readout of the Staff Sergeant's vitals.

A collapsed weapon was shoved into his hands, "Collaspible sword, good for Grimm but I'd stay away from huntsmen." The Armorer chuckled to himself then added on, "That last bit is good life advice," Kowalski pressed a button on the hilt and the sword deployed, another press retracted it. He went to speak but the Armorer read his mind, "You'll get trained on it, same with your rifle and pistol so don't worry. Though based on your evaluation the latter two are mostly a formality."

"Hmm, What about my rifle?" he asked. The Armorer gained a joyful glint in his eye. He picked up the rectangular rifle from the table and handed it to him, "I will admit you guys have your ergonomics down with that rifle of yours but this thing is better in every other way." Kowalski listened to the man explain every bit of the rifle's specifications.

Despite the Armorer's impressive knowledge he struggled to look past the ergonomics of it. Years of using the same M27 from training to Kiev had made even Kalashnikov patten rifles feel odd. The Atlesian rifle was effectively alien to him with its set up. He looked around the room, those with their rifles were in a similar position to him.

He slid the rifle into his back after clearing it, "Look, I'm sure this thing is great but is there anything close to what we brought in your armories?" The Armorer shook his head, "No, nothing really like that here. Just give that one some time to grow on you." Kowalski was glad the face plate hid most of his face. He liked the Armorer but not the rifle the man was so proud of.

The Armorer clapped his hands together and told him that was all he had. Kowalski looked over at Vance who was waiting on everyone else, other marines were still getting outfitted. He checked his watch, they'd be waiting awhile.

**Evening, Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Staff Sergeant Charles Vance**

Vance dragged himself into the barracks behind Kowalski, the rest of their unit no fer behind the two. A few marines groaned upon seeing their racks and collapsed into them. He went to do the same but a voice stopped him, "Staff Sergeant Gris Fleur reporting sir!" A man of similar height to Kowalski was standing before the Lieutenant. Vance grumbled to himself before moving over to meet the new man.

"So your our liasion?" he heard Kowalski ask and the man nodded. "Mantle born and raised, I'm probably better than the the liaisons others will get," Fleur said confidently. He raised his eyebrow and asked what that meant, "It means I can navigate Mantle better than most at my rank. You ever need to go down there and I'll be guiding you through paths most Atlesians don't even think of."

Him and Kowalski shared a look before Kowalski spoke, "Are Atlas and Mantle that different?" Fleur looked at them for a second before alightbuob went off, "Oh right you guys ain't from around here, yeah they are."

"Up here in Atlas you won't find a single person begging for food or money. Mantle? People either begging or barely getting by," Fleur kept his emotions on the matter hidden. "We kinda figured that, just how bad is it?" he asked. "Depends," Fleur ribbed his chin, "Any of the various factories is worse then running or working in the little shops around the neighborhoods."

"Union busters come in and beat up anyone they think is troublesome, human or Faunus though us Faunus tend to get it worse." Vance wasn't sure if anyone else saw it but he saw Fleur stiffen as he talked about the factories. He couldn't blame the guy, the more he described them the more it sounded like hell.

Cole had at some point took up the spot to his left. He finally said something when Fleur finished, "Christ, we got that shit sorted out a century ago, now they just fire you. How the hell did you parents meet in that type of place?"

"They both worked in a munitions factory, they had the same job of checking ammo for defects." Fleur shrugged and said the rest was history. "Both came from elsewhere hoping the talk of making a better life working for the SDC wasn't a lie." Everyone picked up on Fleury feelings torwards the SDC, whatever that was. He vaguely recalled seeing a similar acronym on his rifle and sword.

"That's enough about Atlas. I want to know what you're world is like, figure out what I need to tell you," Fleur said more upbeat than he before. Vance turned and started walking, "I'm tired, the rest of you can tell him how fucked Earth is."

**Three days later, Morning, Atlas Testing Grounds, Task Force Goliath, Staff Sergeant Charles Vance**

Vance heard someone jump into his fox hole, it was Kowalski, "Hey, you see any clankers?" He groaned at the term his CO used. Kowalski defended himself the moment he heard Vance's response, "Hey man I've watched Star Wars for the last twenty-one years, you can't make me fight robots and not let me call them that."

Ever since they'd been told their combat ready test was against robots the entire platoon had been coming up with or stealing names for the damn things. Vance like any true marine has joined in of course. Much like the others he incessantly defended his preferred term for the robots, "They aren't those dumbass droids, they're more like terminators but without the Austrian bit."

The Corporal in the foxhole with him shook his head, "Nah you guys got it all wrong, they're like them bots from Titanfall that came in halfway through a match." He continued scanning for hostile while arguing what term best fit. Though he wouldn't admit, the Corporal was probably the closest of the three. He turned around to grab his binoculars and saw Fleur who was with Kowalski looking at all of them like they had grown second heads.

He turned to scanning the horizon, a multitude of silver and black shapes had revealed themselves in the time it took to get his binoculars. He studied them for a second, "Contact bearing one-four-four, looks like them. They said these silver ones are brand fucking new, supposed to replace the ones keeping Lieutenant here up at night." Both Fleur and the Corporal laughed with him. Kowalski didn't join them, "Go fuck yourself Vance." Despite the approaching threat they laughed harder at the expense of Kowalski. "Not my fault you watched too many killer robot flicks sir," he replied between fits of laughter.

The laughter subsided quickly once other men started seeing the incoming forces. They'd been told they were facing a company's worth of robots with some heavy armor support. No one could figure out what the observers meant by heavy armor support. Fleur had told them was a standard test for any unit before being cleared for combat but he'd said the heavy armor was new to him aswell.

"Let them come in close then we'll fall back over the ridge and let Kosh and company rip into them," Kowalski ordered. Aside from the fact they were fighting computers that could react faster than any of them they'd been left in the dark. No one knew what tactics they knew or if they even had an understanding of anything more advance than 'secure area'.

Movement to his right caught his eye, a marksman was wanting to start shooting, he denied it. Several more of these silent conversations sprung up between him and others. They were well hidden in the fox holes, enough time had been given that communication trenches had been run between the bigger foxholes and over the ridge to where a reverse slope defense had been setup.

Vance had spotted the robots from afar. The initial excitement died down and the boredom returned. The Corporal struck up another conversation, "Any of you seen the tech they put into Kosh's tanks? I thought our stuff was pretty sick till I saw his tanks." Vance shook his head as did Fleur, Kowalski said he'd heard things.

The Corporal dived into the scuttlebutt he'd picked up about Kosh's ordeal with Atlas. How the Major already despised it and his fights with his liasion. Vance told him to give them the fix on the tanks when it became clear the man wanted to gossip. The Corporal apologized then got to the point though not the one they wanted, "Word is Kosh demanded anything they took out be given to him, he's got six shipping containers supposedly full of what they took out."

He whistled, "Where the hell did he get the money for those?" The Corporal shrugged, "Base Commander let him have them after a he intially refused to let them crawl in and start fixing up ol'Svitlana at least according to his gunner. Fedor, I think is his name."

Fleur drug Kowalski away in a series of whispers. Vance took the chance to return to watching their targets. They'd get cut down easily by his men assuming the robots could be surprised but that wasn't the plan. With the assumption that heavy armor support meant tanks they wanted to lure the tanks into cresting the ridge and right into Kosh's waiting guns. The best trick in the book when it came to tank warfare.

He observed them closest, either they lacked any form of alternate vision or were just plain blind. The closest robot was no more than five-hundred yards but they should've noticed something was off. The foxholes were well hidden but they were still giant holes. He took a second to look elsewhere hopin to see the heavy armor support by found nothing.

He looked to his right and saw one of the men from his old squad fiddling with his machine gun. He shouted to him, "Hey Gomez!" The Marine looked over to him a bit shocked at his shouting, "Hit those fuckers!" Gomez didn't even question the order as he leaned into the machinegun and let loose at the advancing robots.

The return fire came quick and Vance ducked down. Kowalski reappeared with Fleur in a made scramble over open ground, the Lieutenant barking orders to start drawing them in. Fleur peeked over the edge of the foxhole, "I think we've out stayed our welcome, good things it's simulation ammo." The Corporal shouted that didn't mean he wanted to get shot.

"We gotta get them to chase before we fall back," Kowalski reminded them as he sent a few rounds down range.

**Task Force Goliath, T-84 Oplots-M w/ 'Atlas' Package, Major Illya Kosh.**

The autoloader loaded its new ammunition into the chamber, a metal tank containing liquid. Fedor called out the information on his new display, "Coolant tank loaded, power system reading green." Kosh looked at his own display and confirmed it. If they ever got back to Earth his tank would have every Ukrainian engineer crawling all over it. The only original pieces left were the hull, turret, ERA blocks, and ammo carousel. His tank was deadlier than any Ukrainian tanker could dream of, the vaunted T-14 would cower seeing the new Svitlana.

Kowalski came through his headset, "Red Ball 4 to Red Ball 1, made contact with the bots. We're gonna sucker them in and then fall back over the ridge. ETA is two mikes." Kosh acknowledged then opened up his hatch. "Kowalski has made contact! Everyone get ready!" he shouted. Those not in their position scrambled across the snow to where they were supposed to be.

Kosh didn't spend anymore time than he needed outside of the tank. Ukraine had cold winters but Atlas was on another level. Fedor tossed a pack of hand warmers to him once the hatch was shut. Their tanks weren't much warmer when running on minimal power but there was no wind.

He set his watch for two minutes, when it beeped he watched the ridgleline. A few seconds later he spotted Kowalski's Force, "Here they come!" Svitlana rumbled to life in response to his words, Boris had one job and he'd done it. Svitlana sling with the other vehicles were hull down with snow piled around them, only their freshly repainted turrets stuck out.

He started doling out orders, "Red Ball 1 through 3 hold fire. Red Ball 5 and 6 , support Red Ball 4." Kowalski hadn't said the code word for if heavy armor was with the attackers. There was no point in revealing his vehicles if enemy armor had yet to appear. Kosh was no scientists but he knew directed energy weapons were hard to counter but with all he'd seen he didn't doubt the chance Atlas had shielding of some kinda.

He watched Kowalski's men come trampling down the hill torwards them and into their fighting positions. The robots followed a few moments later into a hail of bullets. The first robots over dropped instantly before the whole company creeped over while returning fire. Kosh couldn't do anything but watch.

One of Moroz's men came over the radio yelling about contacts to their right. A few seconds later one of his tank commanders said the same thing but to their left. Fedor swiveled the turret around to the left, two hulking robots were approaching. His gunner tapped furiously at his console, "Weapon is primed, give the order." Fedor's finger was already on the trigger.

"Fire," he ordered. Unlike the KBA-3 that Svitlana once held the particle cannon made no vibrations and was nearly silent to them. The beam lashed out torwards one of the targets and cut a hole through the center. Fedor shouted out his readings, "Temperature readings are in the safe zone, power spiked up then returned to normal as it did in training."

The autoloader retrieved the spent coolant canister and placed it back in its spot in the carousel. Another canister came up a few seconds later and slotted into the chamber, "Canister is loaded!"

Kosh looked through his optics for another target. The other robot advancing on their left has been downed by another tank. His BMPs had dealt with the advance from the right and the infantry were cleaning up the center. "That's all of them Fedor. Good shot on that robot," he said while unlocking the hatch.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Deal**

**Evening, Mantle, Joseph Kowalski**

Fleur sidestepped into another narrow alley. Him, Jeong, and Cole fit though it was tight, Vance had to shimmy sideways. Mantle was just factory after factory packed together with neighborhoods surround them. He hadn't found the neighborhoods bad, bar the air quality they weren't much different than living in NYC with his great-grandfather. Once they slipped out the slim alley he asked Fleur where they were going, "Not much farther, gotta celebrate your successful combat ready test properly."

The street they had popped out on was the dividing line between an industrial area and a commercial one. One side had nothing but chainlink fences with trespassing signs, the other held bars, shops, and even the odd apartment building. Fleur zeroed in one one bar and quickly lead them across the street to the entrance. The sidewalks were mostly empty, only a few groups were out bar hopping.

Once inside they took up seats at the end of the bar, Fleur was situated between the four marines. "Hey Nick!" Fleur said to the bartender, "Couple of new guys with me." Kowalski looked at his men, they all realized like him that none of their drink names would be recognized. The bartender slapped a slip of paper down in front of him and Jeong but they couldn't make heads or tales of the names. "Hey Fleur, uh, you're gonna have to help us out here."

Each of them relayed their preferred drink to Fleur, he described a Moscow Mule to the Mantle native. Fleur looked to be thinking hard as to the cloesest equivalent, "That's something I've never heard of but the closest you'll get is a Nevermore with vodka." Kowalski went and ordered that after thinking it over.

Vance raised his glass first, "Let's drink to a hopefully dull deployment and the ability to return home!" Kowalski raised his drinks with the others in agreement. Clinking noises temporarily filled the bar as they toasted.

It wasn't long before the bartender was pouring more drinks and the talking started. "So you guys explained a little of this war of yours. What about before that?" Fleur asked. "More war," Vance deadpanned, Fleur looked to the rest of them and they nodded. "Wasn't like Ukraine," Kowalski clarified before he took a sip from his drink.

Fleur finished his drink and signaled to the bartender. He spoke once he got another drink, "Well how about before that? Surely you guys ain't child soldiers." Jeong took the reigns after Fleur asked, "We're all from America, they're all from the east coast and I'm from the west coast. Williams was from Nebraska and Fedorov, Fedorov is a special case." He and the other two nodded silently at the mention of the man. Fedorov's situation hadn't improved much since coming to Atlas and none of the recent updates spoke well of his status.

"What's so special about him?" Fleur asked. "That war we told you about? We were fighting his home country, his family fled it after the organized crime elements there tried to kill his parents," he explained. It was quiet as Fleur processed it. Kowalski wasn't sure if Fleur knew about the friction Fedorov caused with the Ukrainians. "Damn that sounds like it caused some problems," Fleur looked to him for an explanation. He shook his head rapidly, "Not really, if anything I think Fedorov was more motivated to win than even the Ukrainians. He never said much about his time in Russia but you could kinda tell his family fleeing hit him hard."

Cole finally spoke, "I mean think about it, guy has probably wanted to return since he fled and now he has a chance to return and tear down the government that wanted his parents dead." They all shrugged and agreed with Cole's assessment aside from Fleur. He looked to be mulling over what they'd said about Fedorov. Kowalski finished his drink off and ordered another, for not being a Moscow Mule it was close enough.

Jeong asked him a question regarding the rest of the marines and he tuned out the rest to answer. When he turned back to the others they were discussing dust. "-anyways yeah, it can't work in space. Pretty much killed the global communication satellites project," Fleur turned to his drink.

"Damn, that sucks, we landed on our moon a good thirty or so years before we were born," Fleur almost spit his drink out Vance's words. Fleur coughed out the last of his drink before speaking, "Nah, you're fucking with me. I'll believe the two world wars but that? Your just saying shit to get to me!" Cole, Jeong, and him started laughing as Vance tried to explain they did infact land on the moon. Fleur was steadfast in believing they were lying at first, once they all backed up Vance he conceded they were telling the truth.

They let a silence settle in, he finished his third drink and told the bartender that was enough. Jeong did the same and they talked between each other. Fleur tapped his shoulder a few minutes later, "I heard your men using some term, devil dogs I think. What's that about?" Him and Jeong cracked smiles and pointed torwards Vance, "Ask him."

Fleur repeated his question and added on, "They pointed torwards you, I assume it's something you did?" Vance shook his head, "It's a nickname applied to all marines, came from World War One. The Germans despite unleashing chemical warfare were so damn scared of us marines that they named us the devil dogs." Fleur nodded but was clearly confused. He asked why they laughed, Jeong replied, "He's not done."

"Imagine Gris for a moment that you've spent the last three years sitting in a trench seeing all the horrors of modern war, week long artillery barrages, gas attacks, flame throwers, and so on. All of that doesn't get to you but a screaming, adrenaline filled marine with a shotgun jumping into your trench does, and it's gets to you so bad you liken him to the hounds of Hell," Vance worked on his drink in between setences, the alcohol only served to further his spiel. Cole started to crack a smile as Vance continued. No one quite remembered where this particular portion of Vance was discovered but many enjoyed hearing it.

"Now don't get me wrong, the nickname is badass and I like it but its origins make no damn sense to me," Vance finished the rant quicker than normal, he usually took an hour to get through it. Kowalski chalked up to Vance cutting it down for Fleur to understand.

Fleur glanced down at his watch which prompted him to do the same, an hour had passed already. "So no one has an issue with us coming down here?" he asked. "As long as we don't interfere with the SDC's personal thugs we're good." Fleur ordered another drink and tossed a card on the bar, "Might also be some folk that see me as some sort of traitor for signing up but they're all bark."

Fleur told them to finish their drinks before heading for the restrooms. Vance and Cole slid over the moment he was out of sight. "Man what the fuck did we get into? This shit is like old timey America on steroids," Cole whispered angrily. He held his hands up, "I wasn't looking at human rights abuses, I was just looking for our best shot at getting home."

Cole looked over his shoulder than back to him, "And if we can't get home? We really gonna just sit up there and ignore this?" He didn't respond. "What if they start rising up down here and we're ordered to put them down?" Cole asked pushing a finger into his face. He snapped back, "That's an illegal order, you should know that."

"That might be the case where we're from but I haven't heard a peep about such things in our acclimation classes," Vance said. His second in command also added he hadn't heard of an Atlesian Posse Comitatus equivalent. Their arguing died down as the bartender took the empty glasses. Kowalski watched him take Fleur's card and replace it with a different colored one as well as a slip of paper. The bartender looked at him, tapped the paper, and slid it to him. The bartender pointed torwards the bathroom and subtlety shook his head.

Fleur appeared from the bathroom and grabbed his change, "Let's roll, can't be out too late." They quickly followed Fleur out. He looked down at the paper before stuffing it in his jacket, it held an a phone number and had a SIM card taped to the back with a warning to swap SIM cards before making the call.

Fleur lead them back torwards the army outpost that held their ride back. He debated wether or not to ask about the bartender. The guy had clearly heard the argument and wanted something but he didn't know why it had to be kept a secret. "Hey Fleur," he called out. "Your bartender friend gave me this." He left the SIM card in his pocket but handed the paper over.

The others watched Fleur with him, Fleur looked to him, "Nick gave this to you?" He nodded. Their liasion ripped the note up and stamped it into the ground. "What did you say to him?"

He shrugged,"Nothing, we were discussing what you told us about Mantle and Atlas. He overheard us and slid that to me." Fleur looked over the paper for a minute. He watched Vance's hand twitch torwards the concealed pistol at his side. Fleur spoke finally after another tense minute, "It's nothing to worry about, Atlesian politics."

The rest of his fellow marines were like him at the words, they were on full alert. He nodded torwards Vance and Cole, "Grab him." The two men grabbed Fleur and pinned him to the alley wall.

Kowalski places himself only a few inches from restrained's face, "Alright Fleur, I like you as you're a smart man but you ain't gonna lie to me." For his part Fleur didn't seem surprised or scared. Perhaps this was something he was use to.

"You know the White Fang?" Fleur asked. They all nodded, it was one of the first things they'd been told of. Cole put the pieces together first, "Christ, your a fucking terrorist?" Both him and Jeong let their hands come to rest on hidden pistols as they glanced at the ends of the alleyway. Come had been a little too loud.

Fleur quickly shook his head, "No, I wasn't even apart of Fang before some of the Atlesian members swapped strategy. Hell the Atlesian branch hasn't been involved with the rest for a while now." His men looked to him confused, this was outside their experience. He told Fleur to start talking, "When the new leader, Sienna, took over she told us to do anything to be heard. In Atlas that resulted in large scale rioting and seizing the factories, worked well till Jacques pulled a few strings and his goons got army support."

Kowalski furrowed his brows as Fleur talked. He couldn't blame the man or his associates as he recalled what had been said before. If he could be honest he didn't really give a damn about Atlas or its people but any threat to them was a threat to his ticket home.

He told the two marines to let the man down. Fleur let himself being freed barely slow his explanations. He explained how those that survived the crackdown all but shut down the Atlesian White Fang and slipped into the background. "We decided to infiltrate Atlas, rise up the ranks where we could so when the chance presented itself we could change Atlas for the betterment of both it and Mantle," he said in a single breath.

Fleur seemed to read his mind with his next words, "You guys ain't Atlesians so what's it matter to you if I'm White Fang?" His men looked to him. Considering he was of similar kind as Fleur he couldn't do anything. Jeong took the lead, "It matters because we don't know what your friends will do with us. We just want to go home."

"Okay," Fleur said slowly his face scrunched up in thought. "If my people take over then you have my word we'll keep the setup as it is. How's that sound?"

"Eh, fuck it, this ain't our problem and I don't want to make it ours," he said then stuck his hand out. "Keep your people from screwing with our ticket home and we'll look the other way."


	10. Chapter 10

**Someone asked about this so here's a list of OCs from the last story that currently is in or will be in this one.**

**Joseph Kowalski**

**Anton Fedorov**

**Charles Vance**

**Gris Fleur**

**Indy Cole(Formerly a Faunus Sniper that died fairly early on. He wasn't much more than a footnote before)**

**Richard Sutherland(Formerly Kowalski's CO that died in DC if anyone can't remember him)**

**Chapter Ten: That's Two**

**Evening, Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"Look at this!" Kravets tossed the cards down. "Same pair as last, suit and all! Give me those cards!" The annoyed Ukrainian grabbed them from Vance; l'll show you how to shuffle them." He along with the others relinquished their cards as well. From what little he could gather no one seemed to have a good hand.

His thoughts drifted back towards the previous nights events. Fleur hadn't said much since. Cole was trying to convince him to give thought to helping out Fleur's group before they were sent home. Kowalski was conflicted, he was no fan of the relationship between Atlas and Mantle but he also was not willing to jeopardize their best shot at getting home.

Kravets slapped the table in front of him, "Wake up!" He flicked the edges of his three cards up then tossed them to Kravets. "Anyone hear from Fedorov?" Vance asked. Kowalski nodded, "He's gotten worse, psychs think he's a lost cause but I need to see for myself. Fedorov is tough and I refuse to believe he can't be helped." For once Kravets made no remark about the Russian-American instead focused on the game at hand.

One of the Marines at the table looked behind him then jumped up, "Officer on deck!" The rest of them followed suit and turned to salute Kosh and his guest; a tall and broad black haired fellow in a suit. Compared to their Earth combat fatigues it was a stark contrast. Kosh was in his Atlesian combat fatigues further adding to the contrast.

The man addressed Kosh, "Major it's concerning to find your men, officers no less, out of uniform and playing games." Kosh's right hand, hidden from the man's view, clenched his belt tightly. Wether it was due to the Atlesian or them he wasn't sure. Kosh stepped forward and looked at them before turning, "General Ironwood I apologize for this, regulations are not as strict at home."

"I understand that but don't let this continue Major," Ironwood said. He turned to them, "Which of you is Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski?"

"I am sir," he replied. "You're the highest ranking American, correct?" Kowalski did a sort of half-nod in response. He explained him and Richard were of equivalent rank and seniority. "You'll be coming with the General and I then. Lieutenant Sutherland directed us to you when asked the same question," Kosh told him. Kravets asked if he was to go as well but Kosh quickly told him no.

The two led him away from the table and the building it was in. He found the situation awkward, Kosh was distant to him it seemed and he didn't know this Ironwood fellow. He slipped up to Kosh and asked where they were going, "The Atlesian General wants to talk with us I believe but I do not know what." Kowalski slunk back a little and kept quiet after the vague answer. If this General Ironwood wanted to talk to them then he was sure it was nothing good.

They were lead to a stately looking room. It was reminiscent of the room officer's inhabited in old war films. Him and Kosh sat across from General Ironwood, his woodland MARPAT sticking out like a sore thumb from the primarily neutral colors of the room and other's dress.

"I normally wouldn't concern myself with men of your rank but you two are unique." "I will be frank, we all know the only reason Atlas has agreed to help return you home is because of your military alliance known as NATO."

"NATO and Ukraine are currently deep in an offensive push against the Russian Federation; I doubt they can provide you anything right now. Even the rest of my HQ section has probably already been reassigned," Kosh said matter of factly.

Kowalski counted the days since they'd been here in his head. Kosh wasn't wrong. Operation Bashful was well underway by now and either the Russians had been shattered as planned or NATO was dying on the shores of the Dnieper and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

He added on before Ironwood could reply, "Don't forget the Chinese were stirring the pot as well. We go home and we might find a four or five front war." Kosh nodded and said he'd forgotten about the Chinese. That didn't surprise him, it'd be him storming Beijing not Kosh. That was of course if the Ukrainians didn't push all the way to Vladivostok.

He began to wonder if this Ironwood character knew what NATO was. From what he could gather Ironwood had this idea that NATO was a single monolithic entity, a far cry from reality.

He prodded the man, "General you do understand that NATO is simply the name of an alliance? NATO has no governing body that can force its members to act." The General nodded and said he did indeed understand.

Kosh sighed drawing looks from him and Ironwood, "Ukraine and most of NATO will be unable to provide support if the war is still going when are we able to return. If China joined the fray then you will likely not receive help at all." He nodded in agreement, if Ironwood had thought NATO would send a carrier group or field army then he was sorely mistaken. If China had kicked something off then NATO and its Asian allies would be hard pressed to support Atlas at all.

**Morning, Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"Anton Fedorov, should be in for psychological treatment," he explained and the secretary nodded. Fleur and Winter has both claimed this was the best place for his former Staff Sergeant. Not much had been heard from the Russian-American during his time in Atlas so far, only that his situation was bleak.

The secretary drew him out of his thoughts, "Room eighty-four, green hall, seventh floor." He thanked the man and headed for the stairs. It was an odd quirk he had picked up from his father to always take the stairs in hospitals. A few doctors and nurses as well as a security guard passed him on the way up.

Fedorov's room was easy to find, it even had a security guard posted outside. The guard scrutinized him and his badge for a minute before letting him through. His man sat in a chair looking out over the military base. Anton's combat fatigues had been replaced by a tee and gym shorts that hugged his frame.

He knocked on the wall, "How ya doing A?" Anton shrugged, "Depends on what the doctor says; one day he thinks I'm salavageable and others he doesn't think I can function." Kowalski moved closer, Anton was mumbling and speaking a low tone. It was the opposite of how he normally spoke. He could even detect a beat of defeatism is the Russian-American.

"What happened that night? I prodded that Winter gal but she was in a hurry to get back to work and no one here says much." Anton sat quiet. He was afraid he'd crossed a line. According to what he'd heard the man in front of him was absolutely tight lipped about what happened.

Everyone had offered up their theories since the incident. Boyko's crews were quiet on the whole matter despite them seemingly having escaped the worst effects. That left the men who were outside the Shilkas. Anton was the only one with a snowball's chance in hell of ever seeing active duty again according to the reports.

"The first group, the ones that almost got me physically?" Kowalski nodded as Anton looked at him with a raised brow. Anton got a far away look in his eye as he thought over his next words, "If that'd been the end of it then we'd have been fine. That whole horde afterwards? I won't forget it."

"Look A, if it's that bad then don't talk about it," he said. Anton shook his head and wagged his finger,"Nyet, doctor said it's best if I talk to someone I trust."

He looked at his watch then nodded, "Then by all means, I'm yours for the next thirty minutes." Anton nodded appreciatively then stayed quiet for five minutes. He wasn't sure if he should say something or not.

Just as he opened his mouth Anton started to describe the night, "After Boyko saved my ass everyone was alert. Not an hour went by before they showed up, slow but they had an effect on us instantly. It's the kind of fatigue only a day of constant fighting can bring combined with pessimistic thoughts." Kowalski nodded in understanding. There's been many times where they'd stumbled torward their cot or sleeping bag and passed out before they could even get in them properly. He recalled an incident where they'd found Sutherland wrapped around the legs of a cot still in full battle rattle.

Anton explained how they tried to fight the Apathy conventionally. Boyko's Shilkas did wonderful work against them but their M27s and AK-74s left a lot to be desired. More often than Anton said he needed a full magazine just to kill one of the accursed things. He didn't know who came up with the idea but someone suggested they hide under the Shilkas till dawn, "Whoever said that I owe a lot. We were getting panicked and panicking was not what we needed."

"The fighting didn't bother me, them being there didn't bother me, it was hiding under that fucking Shilka for however long that got to me!" Anton's voice rose to it highest point yet. He seemed almost angry to admit it. Kowalski reclined a bit and then asked why. "Their constant screaming," Anton spat out.

"I should've shot myself; I almost did hiding under there." Kowalski pauses Anton's words, "Don't day that man, it's bad enough we lost Williams and the others." Anton disregard his words with a snort and a, "I suppose."

He listened to Anton explain his night under the Shilka. It sounded terrifying to him, stuck under an armored vehicle listening to a bunch of what were effectively zombies scream and claw to try and get you. Anton quickly glossed over it before he into much detail and Kowalski couldn't blame the man.

"I don't know if I told you but there was this one guy, came to us after Sevastopol, about my height and from California," Kowalski nodded, he knew the man Anton was talking about. He had been counted as KIA after that night and now he was finding out what happened. "He was the first to snap," Anton said quietly, "Screaming and thrashing, don't know where the strength came from but he managed to claw his way out."

"That's enough man," he said. He didn't need the grisly details, he could piece them together based on everything else. They sat quiet for a good long while. Kowalski looked at his watch then stood up to leave. Anton stopped him with a question, "When can we go home?" He paused then answered truthfully, "That's not something I can answer."

Anton's shoulders slumped a little more at his words. He patted the man on the back, "Take it easy, we'll make sure they don't kick you to the curb." Another question came from Anton, "How's it compared to being under the employ of Uncle Sam?"

"Well there's no angry Russians for one; well, aside from you of course." They both shared a laugh at that.

**Location Unknown, 82nd Airborne, Sergeant Marcus Schultz**

Schultz kicked the man in the chest one last time, under the man's other arm he could see Ryan doing the same. Despite their attempts the guy carrying them didn't let it bother him. He heard either Frank or Kerry infront somewhere squeak their boot on the foretress' floor. It was followed by the sound of a door, a massive one, creak open. They took maybe twenty steps before the big guy set him and Ryan down.

He heard a woman's voice ask their captor a question. The man replied with his gruff voice, "I found them not far from the others along the banks of the nearby river. Figured they might be of interest to you." He saw Ryan's eyes twitch forwards him. There were others here, other Americans or Ukrainians that had been on the bridge were here. Now the question would be how to escape and find them

Kerry unable to keep his mouth shut started up, "Look I don't know who the fuck you assholes think you are but when the 82nd gets wind of this ya'll are gonna get a hellfire shaped boot up the ass!" Ryan and him snorted at the words. Kerry was on point with it, if the 82nd could even reach them. The large glass windows in the room made for mighty fine entry holes for guided munitions.

"They're rather displeased with their handling as you can tell," the large man known as Hazel said. Kerry immediately mouthed off a response, "Displeased? Motherfucker untie me and I'll show you how displeased I am."

"Enough." Kerry stopped his struggling. Schultz felt the hair on his neck turn to steel. Whatever this woman was he didn't like it one bit. He heard Frank mumble, "What the fuck?" Schultz rolled over to see what the ordeal was and regretted it. The woman was more a monster than anything; it was either that or she was a complete introvert. Veins ran across her pale skin and her eyes looked like something out of a King novel adapted to the big screen.

She studied them and they did the same. The only thing he could reliably say was that she was humanoid and looked like a bad guy. Otherwise the woman was far too alien for him. She addressed them directly after another minute, "You are no longer on your world. By divine intervention you have been brought here to Remnant for reasons unknown."

He scoffed and replied right back, "That's great, now send us home, we got Kremlins to storm and T-90s to crack open." He didn't have time for this. If this woman wanted something out of them then she might as well say it so he could give her a firm no. If she wasn't a cruel person he could happily go back to war torn Ukraine.

His thoughts of the Ukrainian countryside were cut short by the women, "You can not just be 'sent home', no one can open a bridge between worlds." Schultz's men started to complain but he abused them. There was no guarantee this women told the truth and considering her muscle had forcibly brought them here he wasn't inclined to believe her.

"As far as you might know; how do we know you ain't lying to us?" He tried to keep his tone neutral but failed miserably; there was no way he'd trust these people. Surprisingly Frank added on sarcastically, not Kerry, "Oh yeah we'll work for you Miss Emo, your fucking castle screams text book villain."

Schultz watch her nose twitch slightly. "Good job Frank," he remarked quietly. Thankfully whatever god's had brought them here smiled on them a second time. The women cleared her face of any emotion and addressed the big guy, "Hazel give our guests accommodations until they're willing to compromise with us."

Hazel picked him and Ryan up again and ushered the other out. He called out just before the door shut, "Lady the day I work with you is the day the Russian tricolor flys over D.C." Hazel squeezed a little tighter on his waist after that. They were dumped into a holding cell of some sort; at one point it had been a proper bedroom.

"Any of you remember what the hell happened?" He asked after the door shut. There was no doubt the room was bugged but it didn't matter at this point. He didn't expect to survive a month muchless get home. Kerry shook his head, "Sir I was trying to get the stinger missile in the tube; probably shouldn't have pushed that far onto the bridge."

Frank nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that was not our best idea. You think the rest on the bridge made it through?" Kerry nodded enthusiastically, "If they did I sure as hell don't think they got captured; we're four men and they were a whole damn armored convoy."

"Alright so we need to escape and find those guys," he said. "Any suggestions?"


	11. Chapter 11

**It's oh so fun taking exams in college. **

**Anyways, Acronym time**

**SHORAD: SHOrt Range Air Defense**

**IADS: Integrated Air Defense Systems**

**Chapter Eleven: Grave**

**Two Weeks After Capture, Location Unknown, 82nd Airborne, Sergeant Marcus Schultz**

Kerry let out a loud exasperated sigh, "This is getting ridiculous. She can't keep us locked up forever." They'd been in the cell for two weeks now. Two meals a day along side water which he figured wasn't bad. The lockup though was getting to them. They all suspected that was the gameplan; break them and turn them into obedient soldiers.

"Why not just go along with her plans for us? Soon as we see the chance to bolt we take it," Ryan suggested. They all looked at him as though he'd lost it. Frank snorted, "Yeah they'll buy us having a change of heart; they might even give us some nice explosive collars or something equally barbaric to stop us running."

The room they'd been stuck in had one light centered opposite of the door. It was enough they could make out shapes but not much else. The shape that was Frank moved over to the door and started combing over it. Marcus has tried it earlier but the wooden door hadn't yielded any secrets to him.

The noise of Frank jiggling something came from the door. It was followed by a surprised Frank speaking, "Hey, uh, have you noticed this door locks from the inside?" All of their heads snapped forwards the door. They couldn't be that stupid, could they? Frank undid the bolt and the door quietly swung open. Ryan spoke their minds, "I'll be damned, anyone remember where our guns went?"

Frank said he did and lead them out. The building was not much better lit than their room. They stuck to the walls using their sense of touch to guide them. Occasionally a growl or roar would echo through the hallways giving them pause. They'd seen the twisted beasts on their way in and without guns it was a sure loss to fight them. If one of those things came their way they'd be betting on it having poor eyesight.

"That door there if I remember correctly," Frank pointed forwards an indent on the opposite wall. He darted across and opened the door to peak in then turned around and shook his head.

They kept along the wall some more until Kerry pointed another door out. This one wa swhere their weapons and gear were. Kerry's stinger and it's components sat seperate from their weapons, vests, and other gear.

Marcus slapped a fresh mag in his rifle after checking it for damage. His helmet's eye piece booted up and outlined his men when he looked over them. He watched Kerry not even check the cooling units for the stinger as he grabbed the MANPAD. He looked at his watch then urged his men to hurry up; theyd already been out of their cell for thirty minutes.

Back in the hallway he pushed his eye piece aside and flipped his NVGs on. The once dark halls became green and their visibility improved somewhat. "Lets roll." He said. Frank countered immediately, "We get out and then what? She'll probably chase us." Kerry said they had vehicles somewhere and Frank conceded.

Just as quickly as they'd gotten out the door they heard voices further down. Marcus flipped his NVGs off to see the section of hallway they'd entered was totally dark save for a light further down illuminating a corner. Even further down he could see a window showing it to be night. "Against the walls." He hissed.

Marcus wasn't a devout catholic, but he muttered a quick prayer to ease his mind. Sure, they might be able to kill the humans running around here but even with rifles he was wary of the beasts. The voices became more disntinct as they grew closer, a man and a woman though different from the two they'd met. He heard someone shoulder their rifle but he shook his head and whispered, "No."

The voices were discussing a third person, someone by the name of Cinder. When the first foot from around the corner heh had to let go of his rifle for fear of making noise with his shaking hands. The two carried a light of their own only furthering his fear of being caught. Their voices filled the hall and he took the chance to talk quietly, "If they see us go for the legs and run."

Now that two were around the corner he got a good look at them. They couldn't be older than him at best and looked closer to Ryan and Kerry in age. A light tap on his shoulder caused him to shift just enough to see Kerry holding out a flashbang. He took it with a slight nod. Where it had come from he didn't know but it'd be their ticket out of trouble.

"Stay quiet and move slowly," he muttered before inching towards the two. The shorter one, a green haired woman, swung the lamp away from them. They watched the two walk away from them. He slid the flashbang into a pouch once they were a fair distance. "Come on let's move," he ordered.

The building felt like a maze in night lighting. If it's been day he was sure they'd be out by now. The man behind him grabbed onto the handle of his plate carrier. Kerry pointed down a hallway where two doors obviously leading out sat. Frank and Ryan were already in a crouched run for them.

The doors while large took little effort to open enough for them to slip out. The terrain outside was just as alien as when he first saw it. It looked more like an alien planet than any environment he'd been in. Their captor had brought them via cart but that was nowhere to be seen.

A finger pointed to his left, "Look! Aircraft!" Sure enough there was a silver tilt-jet sitting out in the open. "None of us are a fucking pilot!" He countered, them learning to fly when they needed to move would be bad. Ryan shrugged, "Best time to learn to fly was before now. Second best time is now sir."

"And what of their SHORAD? IADS in general can't be too bad either if they have something like that," he asked. They'd already gotten shot down once in the last month. Fortunately they'd been just over NATO lines when the pilot set down. Here they had no such luxury.

"Have you seen any indication of them having a Tunguska or Pantsir?" Ryan replied. Before he could say anything Ryan added on, "Fuck it, I'd rather die free than locked up by some crazy ass chick with a vein fetish." With that he started forwards the aircraft. It was situated on what seemed to be an unpaved airstrip.

Inside they found it spotless, a bay big enough for two squads, and six parachutes with oxygen tanks. Compared to everything else they'd seen so far this aircraft seemed sorely misplaced.

Ryan scurried into the cockpit where a shout followed a few minutes later, "Ah hell this'll be easy!" He pokes his head in to see a mixed holographic-tactile display with clearly marked instructions to start up the aircraft and fly it.

Despite the alien controls Ryan was flying through menus, diagnostics, and other information looking for the start up sequence, "Engines are still hot and she's got three quarters of a tank."

The aircraft started to shake somewhat while the tell tale noise of a turbojet engine filled the cockpit, "Time to kick the tires and light the fires!" Ryan released the brakes and the tilt-jet started to roll down the uneven runway. "Can't you get us up vertically?" He asked. Ryan shook his head and said he didn't know how.

Ryan jerked the aircraft up forcing Marcus to grab onto the doorway. He shouted for the newly minted pilot to ease up before they were tossed out the back. The aircraft leveled out a few seconds later. Marcus checked himself to ensure nothing had been lost then called back the bay. Frank and Kerry shouted they were fine.

He turned to sit in the back when the dashboard gave a loud beep and a radar display popped up. Ryan called out the readings, "Radar contacts coming from where we just left. Count four small ones and one great big bastard."

The contact were slow but gaining nonetheless. He ran back to the bay and shouted, "Kerry, how fucked are we if we fire that stinger from in here?" His fellow paratrooper looked at the tube laying across his lap and thought hard. The stinger was a soft launch to keep the user from getting scorched but shooting it from inside an enclosed space was still dangerous.

Kerry looked up at him, "Shouldn't be too bad as long as the missle clears the hold. Question is how fucked the cooling units are." The MANPAD operators retrieved the seeker head cooling units from his vest. They were incredibly fragile and the fought treatment they got wasn't good for them. Kerry analyzed each one carefully. The destroyed ones he tossed out the side of the aircraft.

"Four missiles and three cooling units, so best get a damn good return on each," Kerry said. He stood up with the stinger and gestured for Frank to load a missile. The rear bay door was fully deployed still and Kerry inched closer to it with the launcher over his shoulder and a cooling unit in hand.

When Kerry got the edge visible surprise crossed his face and he shouted, "What the hell?" Marcus inched forwards the edge to see the issue. Instead of four aircraft closing they were facing giant wasps. His voice matched Kerry's, "Jesus, can you get a lock still?"

"Fuck no, I need a bright UV or IR source and those things ain't got anything." Kerry looked down at the cooling unit then back to the wasps. He sighed and slotted the battery in, "Come on baby please just let me hit the big one and I'll shine you up real nice when we land."

The sight was one of the craziest Marcus had seen in his career. Kerry sat close to the edge with the stinger ready to go. Him and frank stood on either side waiting for the missile to get a lock. The cooling unit would only keep the seeker cool for so long and he was counting those precious seconds. He was about to tell Kerry to forget it when the launcher beeped and the man fired in response.

The missile jumped out of the launcher then shot off for its target. Barely three seconds passed before the missile caught the two leading wasps. Kerry whooped in victory, "Tally two overgrown wasp!"

Frank started to slot another missle in when the ramp rapidly shut and caused them slide onto the bay deck. He yelped in surprise, "Hey! What the hell Ryan!" His subordinate held not hint of regret in his explanation, "I finally figured out how to supercruise, figured you'd want the doors closed." Kerry lept up raging at Ryan telling him he wanted a warning next time and that he was carrying sensitive gear.

"Where the hell did we end up?" Kerry asked and Frank responded, "We're all stumped Kerry but it sure as shit ain't Earth." He joined in after a bit of quick thinking, "We need to find the others they mentioned. It's gotta be those Ukrainians and Marines that were crossing."

Frank looked forwards the cockpit then back to him, "Think we can get them on the horn now?" He shrugged and said it was possible though internally he doubted it. He slipped into the cockpit and sat in the co-pilot's chair. "Ryan does this thing have a radio?" Ryan pointed upwards to a device hanging securely from the roof, "That should be it up there."

He reached up and undid the patch before speaking into the radio, "To any NATO force's in the vicinity, Wendigo 1 requesting assistance." The callsign for NATO's Ukrainian HQ received no response. He shook his head and shouted to the bay, "No dice and I'm willing to bet it's due to range!"

The flight became quiet after that. He watched Ryan figure out more of the controls in silence. Going supercruise had activated an assist mechanism leaving Ryan to browse the holographic displays. "This thing has weapons?" Ryan asked surprised as a screen popped up in front of the Marcus. It listed two empty pylons and a chin turret though the latter was missing its rotary cannon.

The menu was replaced by the radar screen with a loud beep. A dozen dots closed in on their aircraft. Numbers appeared alongside and he read them out to Ryan who was focused on flying as the autopilot disengaged with the incoming contacts. He copied Ryan's movements from earlier trying to find the turret to see if it held a camera. Sure enough it did have a camera, a powerful one, and he used it to see the incoming contacts, "More of those damn bugs."

Ryan pulled back on the stick in response to his callout. The bugs were closing fast but they were gaining altitude quicker than any pair of wings could. Despite that the aircraft jolted and slowed, and shouting came from the rear, "Christ on a cracker what was that?"

Alarms sprung up infront if him. Ryan was in an intense fight with the stick as he tried to keep the aircraft climbing. Something had struck a fuel line in the left wing and he called back to Frank and Kerry, "They hit us, aircraft automatically slowed down and took over from Ryan."

The radar red the contacts as gaining on them again and he called it out. "Open up the bay doors! I'll give them another keepsake!" Kerry shouted back. He scouted the display for the bay doors before Ryan briefly took his focus off flying and hit one of the physical buttons between them.

"Fuel tank took a hit." Ryan said as he automated warning cane up. He nodded in response not wanting to draw Ryan's attention from piloting. They were loosing fuel at a high rate and he considered their options. Without fuel they couldn't maneuver and that meant being shot down. Their only choice was to jump, "Get us up high and close to the green; we ain't landing where our camo won't do no good."

He shouted back to the others telling them of the change. He left Ryan and went back to get his own parachute which was being held by Frank, "Chutes and O2 here. Looks like ten minute tanks which should be good enough for us." The ten minutes would be more than enough at their current altitude. It would be a matter of getting down without the bugs attacking them.

Kerry shot another missile put the back and screeched a victory cry a few seconds later. He checked over Crank's bag then let the man do the same for him. Frank went to get Ryan situated while he helped Kerry secure the stinger.

He loudly explained the plan from the bay. They'd get down and link up before continuing on their east blind course. The farther they got from their captors the better and he explained it very clearly. "Call is Market, response is Grave," he finished with.

Ryan's voice came from the front and coincided with the engines sputtering before dying, "Tanks are dry, wait until I tell you to jump." The side bay doors opened to reveal the dark red landscape giving way to green untouched forests. He just finished checking his gear was secure when Ryan darted out of the cockpit, shouted at them to jump, and leapt out of the aircraft.

**Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Atlas Sergeant Charles Vance**

"You know I'm still sorta weary of Atlas," he started between spoonfuls of food. The others at his table looked at him before mostly agreeing. Kowalski asked why, "Their whole set up just creeps me out. I mean we didn't have everything right back home but this here with their council set up just don't sit right with me. You got the military with the most power on the council and no check on that."

Kowalski mulled over the words then looked to the rest at the tabl, "You guys agree with him?" Most of the others nodded while a few appeared to be on the fence. The Lieutenant sighed then started, "What do ya'll propose we do?"

"Well we're locked in so go with it till we can't do it anymore." One man suggested. He got a series of nods from around the table. Kowalski looked to him and he shrugged. "I'll follow you into hell and they'll follow me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Coward**

**Location Unknown, 82nd Airborne, Sergeant Marcus Schultz**

"Christ, I'm gonna be sick," Kerry blurted out. Marcus nodded before urging him onwards past the grisly sight. The bugs had attacked Ryan on his way down. His remains were for a lack of a better word, splattered around his landing spot. Marcus grabbed the tags from the remains of Ryan's upper body

Kerry and him had come down near each other. Frank was somewhere to their south-east advancing on a town he'd seen. Marcus was wholly unprepared for their situation. The worst case scenarios assumed he was deep behind Russian or Chinese lines without supply for upwards of a month. Here they weren't being resupplied and they didn't have the luxury of a whole division to back them. His best plan was to just keep moving east; he hoped they'd find a city or military force to get help from.

"We're going to get back home," he assured both Kerry and himself with those words. "Yeah and we'll bring the whole fuckin army back here," Kerry replied. He silently agreed with the statement as they marched onwards.

**Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Major Illya Kosh**

"My country might've been blatantly corrupt but this is something else American, this makes the Russians look clean!" Kosh was fuming mad. He'd dealt with a lot of bullshit in Ukraine both before and after Crimea but what Atlas had done was beyond the petty corruption and politics at home. He was intently watching the American to see his response.

"I'm not hap-" Kowalski started but get cut him off, "No, enough of that same old response! You'll either do something about it or keep quiet." Kosh had heard politicians vary their responses more. Every time an issue came up Kowalski said the same thing, down to the his voice.

He found it funny when the man sputtered at being interrupted then regained his manners,"What do you want me to do?" He snorted at the question. Kowalski's actions he only gotten them further into trouble, ."Nothing, this whole situation is your fault. If we need anything from you Americans I will ask Lieutenant Sutherland." With those words he left the Americans to their own devices. He needed to make critical decisions without the interference of the Americans.

Kravets was hot on his tail as he briskly walked torwards the vehicle depot. The normally brash Captain cautioned him, "Kowalski will learn."

Kosh shook his head, "His actions have put us in a bind and it's one we can not easily escape." They stopped their conversation when two Americans turned the corner ahead and walked torwards them. Once the two were gone Kravets resumed the discussion. "What about this Vale sir? Will we not just be walking into the same situation?"

Kosh stopped mid stride and turned to his old friend,"Anything is better than this place." He made it known in his voice there was no arguing. Kosh had made his mind up when the sergeant, also seething mad, had informed him of what happened. Kravets though argues still,"Illya, you know we don't have the ability to move. Not with our tanks anyways." The man did have a point, their tanks were dependent on Atlas for strategic movement. They were good machines for war but terrible for long distance travel.

"It was one thing to ignore the dystopian setting here, but it's another to ignore this!" He sighed, few things had managed to break his well disciplined form. The last time it had happened had been when the Russians began rolling into Ukraine and he had broken down and yelled at the requisition officer three weeks into the war. Ukrainian made darts for the T-84s were complete garbage at the time, as a result they could barely puncture T-90s within a mile. He had gone into battles with sub par ammo against the best the Russians had. It wasn't until NATO forces arrived and the Ukrainian government, now facing extinction, rooted out corruption at all levels before better ammo had come along. He remembered quietly admitting to Fedor multiple times he did not expect to survive the next day. That requisition officer had unpacked a crate of darts he had taken one look at and declared worthless. The poor officer as a result had suffered the wrath of an angry Kosh shouting to the heavens about the incompetence of their country.

Now he wasn't losing his composure over such things. Kosh was losing it over Atlesian society. Kosh was no fool and knew there would always be divides but Atlas was an extreme. Their original projections of the divide had disturbed him greatly but now he had learned it was more than an economic divide. He had three men locked up in Mantle for intervening in an apparent Schnee Industries sanctioned crackdown on workers. Whatever the suits told him he didn't believe, his men were young and hot headed but they wouldn't stick their noses where they didn't belong without a damn good reason. No disciplined Ukrainian soldier would get arrested for intervening in the breakup of rioters. Nor would said soldiers have serious injuries his medics had managed to patch up before Atlesian High Command had told him to back off until the courts did their work.

Kosh clenched his jaw at the thought of the injuries on his men. Even if he couldn't get his men elsewhere, a place safer and less of a disgusting and corrupt oligarchy, he'd make sure the Atlesians wouldn't get much of anything from him until the American, Kowalski, came to his senses. He grown a strong dislike of the man; Sutherland as well as Kowalski's subordinates he liked, but Kowalski was a bumbling idiot trying too hard to slot into an incompatible world. Briefly he considered the idea of Kowalski being inflexible but quickly dismissed it as the man had proven in their short independent stint he could adapt quickly. The issue was something else but Kosh had already decided if push came to shove he would place Sutherland in command and revoke the entirely American idea of Kowalski being a temporary Captain.

Kosh grabbed Kravets before the younger man could step away, "If they move to court marshal our men, act." Kravets didn't need to say or do anything for Kosh to know he acknowledged the order.

With Kravets knowing he could act as he saw fit the two parted. Kosh made for the depot where his tank sat. The old warhorse had seen him through the harrowing fall of Kiev and the preceding battles across Eastern Ukraine. Now he might be calling on here to take part in a suicide mission. He lamented the fact his death would not be defending Ukraine but instead in some foreign world protecting his men from a court, a corrupt one. Beating down civilians because they were striking was something he couldn't imagine even in his own troubled country. That was for the times of old not today.

In the bay where Svitlana sat he found Fedor cleaning the gun, or particle cannon as it was now called. Briefly he pondered how long the old girl could operate in combat with her new configuration. Aside from her particle cannon the previously barely advance third generation main battle tank had received new active protection, engine, and secondary weapons.

"Fedor!" He called putting and gestures for the man to stop what he was doing. The grease covered gunner wiped his hands on the overalls as he walked over. "Is she ready for live combat?" He asked. Fedor nodded and told him the tank was in the best shape she'd been in since they'd been given her right before Donetsk.

"Good," he said quietly, "How about extended operations? One where we can't count on supplies?" Fedor gave him a quizzical look. He shook his head indicating no questions should be asked. "Two, maybe three months if we can get the required fuel and weapon coolant stocks in. I know you want no questions but I'll assume this is due to last night."

"And the trucks?" Kosh referred to the semi-trailers loaded with the previous equipment mounted to his vehicles. Fedor nodded, "Fueled and ready, fuel cells are good enough to go six hundred kilos a day for four days."

**Two Weeks Later, Vale, Task Force Goliath, Major Illya Kosh**

"Reason for your trip?" The customs agent asked him. His eyes flicked towards another Ukrainian going through the same thing, "Personal Leisure." The agent nodded, stamped his passport, and wished him a safe stay. Safe, he snorted at the word, if any Atlesian got wind of what he was doing he wouldn't be safe. He waited for the two others to finish getting though customs. His watch read five till two and their contact had said they'd be there at two sharp.

His men were still locked up in Atlas. Kravets was trying his best to get them released but Kosh has made up his mjnd. Atlas was not where his men would stay until they could contact NATO again. The Americans didn't even know he was gone at the moment and Atlas thought he was commencing training exercises in the far north. A falsified passport and a pilot from the White Fang contact that was Kowalski's liasion hadn't cost him much, three rifles and a thousands round for each. He knew those terrorists were bad news but he didn't give a damn as long as they left his folk and the Americans alone.

Getting in contact with Vale's intelligence service had been a bit more difficult but once again Fleur had come through. Although not a White Fang contact and not affiliated with them Fleur had a friend in the Vale's military intelligence. Vale and Atlas we're officially allies but the tech disparity, militarily, was a point of contention. A Major offering to secretly defect with top of th line Atlesian equipment in return for one minor favor had quickly gotten him a meeting.

The two others men he had brought were low ranking privates. He feared brining anyone higher up in his command chain would draw suspicion. The pistols tucked in their boots had passed detection and he had one shouldered under his left arm. He didn't think they'd draw their guns but better to have it and not need it.

The airport reception area was sparesely populated, air travel was for the rich and connected unlike Earth. Most continental travel was still done by sea. Kosh observed a woman, their contact most likely, she was a non-descript red headed women in business attire. What gave her away was her eyes constantly shifting around, often torwards cameras and entry points. When she spotted him and his men she made a beeline for them.

In a hushed voice she asked if he was Pyotr, the fake name he'd provided. Once the contact was confirmed he and his ken were rushed to an awaiting vehicle. Once inside he introduced himself with his real name, "Major Illya Kosh, 1st Tank Brigade of Ukraine." The woman responded with her code name, Mulberry

"Ukraine? You are with Atlas correct?" Mulberry asked confused. Kosh grunted in disapproval, "I only serve under those corrupt bastards because of my allies actions. Had I known what I would find there I would've stayed in Anima." He knew Vale's higher ups were aware of the situation. However from Mulberry's reaction it appeared they hadn't informed his handler.

Regardless of her confusion Mulberry pressed forward, "What can you provide us?" Kosh counted the items in his head. He'd written a list but quickly burned it when he realized the danger of having it. "Particle cannons, high efficiency engines, and Atlesian fire control syste-" Mulberry rudely cut him off, "If you want Valean protection for your men we need more than what can be stripped from your tanks. Airborne ship schematics, industrial machinery blueprints, anything that can significantly advance Vale to make the idea of protecting your defection pplitically feasible and not cause a pointless war."

Kosh snorted, he'd been doing that a lot recently, "Tell me Agent Mulberry, when was the last time Atlas fought a war other than your 'Great War'? Do they even know what it costs to wage the type of war they will fight?" Before Mulberry could say anything he continued, "My country, the American's country, even the damned Russians who were preparing for it far more than the rest quickly realized they hadn't prepared enough."

"What's your strategic reserve situation? Six months? That'll be three at best. If the Atlesians want us that bad they'll be fighting with the same tech the last one was one was fought with after four, maybe five months." He exaggerated a bit in his words. While strategic reserve estimates were always optimistic he didn't think any war here could be as intense as WW3. Ukraine had ran through its reserves in just four months but that was with near constant high temp mechanized warfare. Fortunately by then NATO had arrived in all its glory. Here he figured the estimates might be on the mark, not that Mulberry needed to know.

"Your point Major?" The agents voice was imperceptibly shook. She damn well knew what his point was but was afraid to think of it's implications, Atlas was a paper tiger. He knew Atlas wasn't a such a thing but outsiders without internal experience didn't know that. He needed to use that tidbit to full advantage before Cale realized Atlas was indeed an effective fighting force, "I know Atlas' situation, I know they will be willing to fight over our defection, and I know they can't afford to fight even though they think they can."

The car became quiet. He knew Mulberry was deep in thought at his words both spoken and not. Frankly he felt a bit guilty about misleading Vale into believing Atlas was not as strong as it appeared. Such an idea could easily result in war but that wasn't his concern, getting home was. Either the politicians would use it to justify equalizing the field or begin a pointless war. In either case Kosh would keep his mind on the task at hand.

"I," Mulberry started then stopped to search for the words, "I believe that we can come to an agreement Major Kosh. If you can do us one favor before leaving Atlas."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Just Like Witches At Black Masses**

**Evening, Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Captain Vladimir Kravets**

Kravets was frustrated with the ongoing situation. The Atlesian military's legal department was acting as the mediator between him and the SDC's lawyers. For once Kravets understood the joke about all lawyers going to hell. The spineless forwards protecting the SDC's ass argued they had tapes to prove his men had attacked two guards for no reason; Kravets though couldn't see said tapes. When he asked his mediators to view them they were also told they couldn't see them. It all reeked of a cover up, which unfortunately, was backed by the government.

"Listen here you little degree toting fuck! Get my men out of that god damn prison before I bust down the SDC's door with Kosh!" Kravets slammed the phone down and looked over at Fedor, Kosh's gunner. He'd just been informed the men under arrest had been moved to a more secure location as the SDC felt threatened by him. He was glad the corporation was scared; it meant they considered him a risk. Kravets had said things that should've gotten him demoted at the least and discharged at worst. One such thing included a threat to Jacques Schnee which had seen him placed in isolation unable to contact anyone for a day. That had been followed by a disciplinary action from General Ironwood himself. Kravets didn't give a shit if he could be honest; he'd do it again in a heart beat.

Kravets generally did not like the rich and powerful. His parents even after the fall of the USSR had been very left leaning and thus he was aswell. Back home he grumbled about it and voted in favor of like minded people where he could; Atlas was different story and grumbling wouldn't cut it. His ancestors had served with both the Bolsheviks and the Black Army during the chaos of post-October Revolution Russia. Right now he was considering ressurrectiing some of those methods.

Fedor standing up drew him from his fantasies, "If that's all Captain then I will report to the Major when he calls next." He nodded and released the locks on the door for the gunner. Kosh was now in Vaccuo trying to find a way out for them; Vale had turned them down and now they were looking elsewhere for safety. Kravets personally hopped Illya worked something out soon.

A single sharp crisp knock came front he door followed by a voice, "Staff Sergeant Vance." Once again he released the locks while flipping through a report about tank shells. His first que somethng was off was Vance's apparel. It was not the black under suits they usually wore when not in combat situations; Vance wore USMC fatigues with a USMC handgun at his hip. The report on his desk was quickly forgotten upon noticing Vancems dress. The marine had to be doing this behind his seemingly disninterested commander.

"Sir I was hoping to talk in private and with secrecy," Vance said tersely. Kravets nodded and deactivated his Atlas provided phone while pulling out an Ipod, the little device soon emitted hard bass at a decent volume. It was his homemade way of countering any bugs Atlas had inevitably planted; if the two kept their voices down then he reasoned they would be fine.

"What is it?" he asked quietly. Vance was leaned forward so they could hear each other over the rapid and hard hitting music. Vance's hands rapped to the beat as he spoke, "Kowalski just had an ass chewing from Sutherland and then from Ironwood. Sutherland because of his indifference torwards your men and Ironwood due to to the rest of us' actions." Kravets could already see where this was going; Kowalski's action had distanced him from his men and if Sutherland had said something it was getting bad.

"We were ordered to Don our USMC apparel this morning and Sutherland's platoon did the same. You know what that means?" Vance asked and Kravets nodded. Kowalski was finally reacting in a potentially bad way. With the situation tense any sign of disrespect or open rebellion against Atlas with regards to the current issue could bite them. Vance appeared neutral on the subject; Kravets knew he was in favor of violent action. Most of the Americans had grown tired of their new generals.

If Kowalski was going to kick something off before Kosh returned then they needed to be ready. Fedor had most of the more mechanically and electronically inclined running through their equipment for kill switches. The infantry on the other hand were refamiliarizing themselves with their old gear; somethng that was hardly needed after the months or years of war. Realistically it was all futile, as a precision air strike from an airship would eliminate them instantly. The feasibility of any split off depended solely on Atlesian Officer morals and Kosh.

**Vaccuao, Council Woman**

She knew she couldn't let this opportunity slip by. Not only would her peers ridicule her but it might cost her at the next meeting of the nomads. An 'Atlesian' Officer, though if he spoke the truth he wasn't Atlesian, had come to her looking to defect with his men. Vaccuao didn't have the airships of Atlas, walls of Vale, or size of Anima. The people were distrustful of one another and the central authority that was the council only held direct influence on the academy and surrounding area. Their military while decently equipped couldn't compete with the others, nor could it stop a serious grimm attack without pushing most academy students into battles they might not be prepared for.

If this Major Kosh was sincere it could jump start Vaccuao's defense industry from producing rifles and primitive airships to a real threat. Atlas, or more specifically the SDC has always held the reality of Vaccuao's subpar military over their head; they staffed the mines security forces with troops from Atlas instead of relying on Vaccuao and it burned the nations pride. All she had to do was guarantee Kosh's men's safety and she'd be hailed as one of the greats.

"Miss?" Kosh's foreign accent drew her from the daydream, "Aside from protecting us I only have one other request." She had to hold back the excitement and eagerness, "Of course, you said you had roughly 150 men in need of transport? That can be arranged within a month Lieutenant."

"That's good but we have around a dozen with severe psychiatric needs from an encounter with what you call Apathy," Kosh said and her spirits fell slightly though she made sure the Lieutenant couldn't tell. Vaccuao didn't stagnate in the medical field; it was the one place it kept up in compared to the rest. That unfortunately did not mean it was perfect and mental treatment was not as good as it should be. If these damaged troopers had encountered the Apathy she wasn't sure Vaccuao could do much beyond a multi-decade recovery effort. Atlas medical geniuses could barely reform Apathy survivor within five years anyways.

"We can care for them if that's what it'll take for us to come to an agreement but I must tell you their treatment will not be as good as Atlas," she said dejectedly expecting Kosh to walk away. Instead he smiled, "That is fine, If I wanted miracles I'd demand a way home."

**Mantle, Task Force Goliath, Staff Sergeant Charles Vance**

"Word came down the Ukrainians chain today," he said between sips. Sutherland didn't respond but tapped the bar and shoved a few coins torwards the bartender nearby. The little bar Fleur had introduced them to had become a hotspot for marines when free. It's location made it hard for Atlas to track the plainsclothes troops, and none of them had an electronic banking signature in Atlas. None of the men cared it was a White Fang hideout; none of them cared about the little war being waged here. The place had good drinks and food, and kept the higher ups from spying on them.

Sutherland held up a hand after the bartender supplied him his drink then turned to him, "Kosh secures a spot in Vaccuao, my staff sergeant told me this morning." Vance nodded, of course Mitch had informed Sutherland before he even knew. Vance was always lagging behind here it seemed, yet back on Earth he'd even beaten Fedorov a few times in relaying information to Sutherland or Kowalski.

"Kowalski knows?" Sutherland asked and he nodded.

Vance slid his empty glass forward and held a hand up to the bartender. He's wicked around to face Sutherland fully, "Told him before I caught a ride down. He's meeting with Kravets and some big wig lawyer from the Atlas Military Justice Agency." Sutherland snorted through his drink, "Fat chance anything'll happen."

A silence settled in between them. A tv mounted above the liqour wall was showing a news channel and two marines and a Ukrainian sat at the end of the bar. Mid-Day was a slow time which made it perfect for officers to discuss things Atlas didn't need to know about. He was waiting for Sutherland to bring it up but when the man didn't he went first.

"So Fedorov and the others," he started. "What about them?" Sutherland asked. Fedorov and the other survivors of the Aparhy encounter were still in the mental trauma ward of the base hospital. Roughly half we're in what the Atlesians called 'good condition' which meant it was expected they could return to active duty in two to three years. The rest which was Fedorov another American and three Ukrainians were considered unlikely for active duty again. That also meant they were very carefully monitored and not allowed to leave like the others. If Kosh told them it was time to move folk would need to be designated to bust Fedorov and the others out.

He cut time the point, "Who's going in?" Sutherland smirked and sipped from his glass again. "No one, I've got paperwork sitting on my desk that'll clear them to leave the ward for three days. We'll be long gone and declared traitors by then." Vance didn't ask where that stuff came from. His platoon's liasion was also white fang with connections to the medical staff on base. A little bribery and some assurances of supply miscounts likely had resulted in this papers falling off to the side of the shredder. It was disturbing how quick Sutherland had gotten use to doing such things, though the man's brother was a wall street banker.

Vance's phone vibrated; pilling it out revealed a message from Kowalski. It said for him to return to the base soon. Although he want quite as good as Fedorov in reading their Lieutenant he could tell the wording meant to get his ass in gear. He began to stand up, "Duty calls." Sutherland laughed and stood to join him; as they Sutherland barked at the enlisted at the end of the bar to not get wasted.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Plans**

**Vaccuao, The Councilwoman**

She smiled and waved as the Ukrainian officer disappeared into the gate for Atlas; as soon he was out of sight the smile disappeared and with her guards disappeared into a hallway. Kosh has promised he'd be in contact with their intelligence assets within a week. The council would need to be informed of the full deal, so far they'd only been told the basics. Both the Ukrainians and Americans totaling around 150 men would defect; the largest defection since the Great War. The councilwoman wasn't dumb; Atlas would come for them and aggressively pursue their extradition.

The hallway spat her entourage out into an awaiting convoy. Once seated she tapped the Captain next to her, "Contact Byte 3, tell them it's got to do with Atlas."

**Atlas, Task Force Goliath, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

"SDC is keeping them here," Kravets pointed towards a thickly walled section of the jail. "Three-foot walls, reinforced, combined with two-inch steel doors, and two checkpoints between it and the nearest exit. They know we're hopping mad and antsy." In the time it's taken for Kosh to return negotiations had soured. They had soured so badly Kravets had been relieved of command by General Ironwood. His reinstatement was considered highly unlikely according to the liaisons. For the Ukrainians and Americans, it did not matter what Kravet's official position was. They were no longer Atlesian soldiers, plain and simple.

Sergeant Jeong looked at the floor plans before speaking, "All they need to do is hold us until the army shows. By our estimate, we have twenty-three minutes before we need to leave." Ideas bounced back and forth on how to rapidly get in and out. If they took too long then they would die or worse, be imprisoned here. The Ukrainian Shilka Commander, Boyko, spoke up, "What about digging? Come from underneath?" The Ukrainians who knew Boyko well saw his hairs stand up at the mention of 'underneath', a remnant of the Apathy incident.

"Possible but physically intensive, slow, and risk of discovery if we move too much material outside the entry point," Kravets replied as if he'd considered it; he likely had. Suggestions came from a variety of men, Diaz, Moroz, Vance, and a few of Sutherland's squad leaders offered varying plans. Ranging from stealing uniforms to full-scale assaults. Kravets and he shot them all down as fast as they came. Sutherland remained quiet, he was intensely focused on his tablet.

Vance tapped a set of walls close to the cell block, "Explosives? With the way these cells are anything short of a SMAW will bounce off." The cell walls were thick and reinforced but the walls Vance pointed to were thin, likely no more than the siding, studs, and drywall, maybe insulation. Kravets looked to him and he nodded then spoke, "Nighttime then, can't risk the men being outside their cells."

"We have a situation." Sutherland raised his voice. All eyes snapped to him waiting for the news. Any complication would be beyond terrible. Vaccuao had put time-sensitive resources into action to extract them and thus they were on a tight schedule.

His tablet sent the information to the digital table they stood over. It displayed a landmass, a large one with multiple red dots spaced along a road. Ukrainian Lieutenant Moroz highlighted the latest dot which brought up a low-quality image, Sutherland spoke, "I'm going to some island or something. Someone's been chattering to Atlas about three strange men claiming to be from America running around." The low-quality image showcased the three figures and they were all carrying what were M4s and one looked to have a long pipe on his back, either a stinger or AT4. "Another thing I gleaned was they had white double As on a blue and red patch," Sutherland said as the digital table resorted to the floor layout of the prison.

Much like the rest, his mind raced with possibilities. Had the US figured out a way here or were hey more unfortunate travelers? If the US was here then where was the rest of the 82nd? Such questions pelted his mind as Sutherland's men filed out leaving just their CO. He looked over to the man, "We can't wait Rich."

"I know," he sighed, "once we grab them we'll hijack our rides and take 'em to Vaccuao." He asked how long and Sutherland gave him an answer, "A few hours by air there and back no telling how long it'll be to find these supposed Airborne boys." With that, he left to prepare for a rescue operation, the last one with Atlas.

Kosh who had been quiet till now sighed a deep tired sigh, "We have two platoons, Vladimir, Kowalski, you'll be leading the charge. Moroz and Boyko alongside I will be waiting at the evacuation point. Get the plans to me by tomorrow night, I'm going to retrieve Fedorov and the others." The Major left quickly despite his tired appearance. That left him, Kravets, and their immediate subordinates to come up with a plan. Kravets launched into the details instantly, "Through this wall here from the outside. Exceptionally thin and directly connected to the wing they're in. One more charge from this hallway to this courtyard and we're in." Jeong highlighted intelligence that a few bribes and some persuasion from the veteran swindler Gris Fleur had gotten, "Expect around a dozen guards here and a bunch of bots. Shouldn't see another living human aside from us."

Kravets outlined their exfiltration plan, "We pile out the way we came to the awaiting vehicles. Down this road here then cut through these alleys to the aero dome. If our jamming tech works no one should know it was us till we're airborne." Their jamming tech was the best Vaccuao had designed to combat Atlesian robotics and communications. Without a signal source consistently feeding them IFF information the Atlesian Knights would go into stasis mode meaning the assault team would face no resistance if the jammers worked.

"Are any of you concerned with this?" Kravets asked with more sincerity than one would expect from the Captain. Like any leader, Kravets cares deeply for his men. He wanted anyone with concerned or second thoughts to speak now rather than jeopardize the mission. One man, a subordinate of Moroz, raised his hand, "What will our vehicles be? We've already snuck the tanks to the aero dome." Kravets told him they would be using passenger vans, the kind that could seat a dozen or more people.

**5 Days Later, USMC-Ukrainian Force, Lieutenant Joseph Kowalski**

The vans slid into a loading dock area across from the jail, eight in total carried the large force of men, all lightly geared for a hard and fast nighttime assault. A ninth can carried the jamming equipment, when the bomb detonated it would activate and stop any signals from getting outside the jail. A jury-rigged bomb was set so that anyone opening the rear doors would get a nasty surprise and destroy evidence of Vaccuao's involvement. Kowalski tapped his helmet's side to activists it's night vision mode.

Kravets lead the two platoons across the road to the fence. Four teams cut several large sections out and they all scrambled up to the wall. Two platoons gave them plenty of men to have an unbroken chain of eyes stretching from the road to the cells. Once the prisoners were rescued they'd collapse in the breach until everyone was out. The plan called for no more than ten minutes to be wasted inside the jail, the other thirteen minutes they had before Atlesian military responders arrived was to be used to get away.

"Charges set," a Ukrainian sapper whispered. Kravets looked over at him, Kowalski and two of his squads had their important role to play. It had not come up till the morning of but he promised Kravets to get it done. Checking he had both SMAW launcher teams with him he nodded and Kravets whistled at the Sapper.

"Fire in the hole!" The explosion broke the quiet night as their Atlesian provided comms went dark. They'd had handheld radios from Earth in place of the helmet-mounted ones. Three Ukrainian squads lead the charge in followed by him and his teams. Immediately they broke apart, Kowalski's team heading towards the central courtyard while the rest of the assault force went for the holding cells of the SDC jail. Kowalski and his group made as loud of a racket as they could, firing haphazardly, shouting, and tossing grenades into empty rooms. At several points, Kowalski made sure to drop magazines with the White Fang logo embossed on them.

Their ruckus attracted several human guards, most in a panic due to the neutered Atlesian Knights. Rifles chartered even in a dead sprint for the objective, their powered suits allowing for fears unheard of on Earth. Through the radio, he heard Kravets announce they had the prisoners.

"Voodoo is still en route it's to secondary objective," he said into his radio. Kravets told him to hurry up and went quiet. Shortly thereafter his force entered into the central courtyard, their target being the four small buildings gathered in a corner with a fence around them. The SMAW teams got to work, "Firing! Clear back last!" The rocket shot out and turned the first target into concrete dust and electronic bits. A second rocket, this one thermobaric, cleaned out the second structure.

His second team was preparing to fire on the third when a hail of gunfire came at them from an entryway across the courtyard. "Taking fire! Voodoo cover the launchers!" He shouted as loud as possible. The lone MG with the squad cut a line across the doorway where SDC guards were coming from killing several and wounding others. Four more rockets destroyed the other two buildings, the jail went dark. The on-site generators were destroyed and the jail wasn't hooked up to the main grid due to SDC paranoia. Without power, every cell door opened and chaos ensured.

"Voodoo lets go!" The men didn't need to be told twice as they scurried back towards the rest. If all went well the SDC wouldn't notice the three missing soldiers and if they did they would assume they escaped just as everyone else did until it became apparent what happened. That would be when someone decided to check out why Task Force Goliath hadn't returned from a routine exercise out in the wilds of Solitas.

At the entry point, they found two Ukrainian squads waiting, the rest had already gotten back for the vans and taken off. They followed suit, down through the holes in the fence to the vans took less than two minutes; they were forty seconds over schedule. Before he got in Kowalski set a timer on the hammer van ensuring it would be destroyed within the next thirty minutes.

Two vans remained for them, he shouted at the driver to go as he pulled his passenger door shut. They slipped out into the road and quickly made for a different one. They passed by the response force which thankfully let them be.

The Aerodome was empty this early in the morning and they managed to get to the Vaccuao Government's hangar without much noise. Kosh and his vehicles were long gone it was just him and Kravets with their men who were left. He passed Kravets on the ramp of their aircraft. "Shame we won't go home," Kravets said. He nodded but didn't reply.


End file.
